German soccer leadership has announced that they will redesign the No. 4 on the country’s national team jerseys following claims that it resembles the logo of the Nazi paramilitary units that were prevalent during World War II.
The German Football Association (DFB) announced on Monday after several social media posts suggested that fans could create a jersey with the No. 44, and stated that it was similar to the Schutzstaffel, or the SS logo. The SS was founded by Adolf Hitler, and served as the Nazi Party’s political foot soldiers.
In a statement posted on X, the DFB said that the organization had submitted the numbers to UEFA for review, and “none of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism in the creation process of the jersey design.”
The No. 44 isn’t currently being used by any players on the German men’s and women’s teams. Adidas, the major supplier of the jersey, allowed fans to make personalized jerseys from numbers 00-99 with names that were up to 10 letters long. However, following the controversy, Adidas did away with the ability to customize any of the German jerseys going forward.
According to a report from Reuters, Adidas spokesperson Oliver Bruggen stated that the company would “block the No. 44 as quickly as possible.”
These German jerseys are going to be worn by both men’s and women’s teams and made their debut last month.
