Germany has banned the sale of custom no. 44 kits ahead of the Euros, after people compared the stylistic font combination to the Nazi SS symbol.

Concerns were first raised over the weekend, with an X user posting the customisable kit with the number 44, questioning adidas’ thought process behind the jersey’s font and fuelling discourse surrounding the new Germany kits. 

Custom kits have historically been used by neo-Nazis and far-right extremists to signal their views. In Italy, the number 88 – a common number used by neo-Nazis to allude to Hitler – has been banned at football grounds in a federation-led crackdown on anti-Semitism and other discriminatory behaviour in the stands.

The German Football Federation sent numbers 1-26 to UEFA for review ahead of the Euros this summer, and claims no one involved caught any similarities to Nazi symbolism. However, with fans able to customise their own kits and the newfound knowledge of the 44 combination, adidas and Germany made the right call in barring supporters from purchasing the jersey.

The federation says they are currently working on a new design for the number four jersey.

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