Five football kits that were banned, including 'Nazi' shirt and Cameroon's sleeveless shocker

Every season, fans get excited about their club's new kit being launched, with designers across the world responsible for some beautiful clobber down the years.

Wearing your team's colours provides supporters with an identity, community and and opportunity to express themselves.

While some play it safe displaying their traditional roots, others opt for bright and bold designs, with every kit a reminder of memories gone by.

However, kit suppliers don't always get it right, or at least that's the case for these lot, who got it so wrong that they had to be banned.

Let's take a look at the best of the banned, and consider why they didn't pass the eye test.

Cameroon's sleeveless shocker

Cameroon won the Africa Cup of Nations in style. Image credit: The Daily Star

After what was surely months of deliberation and careful consideration, one may often wonder how Puma landed on Cameroon's kit for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations.

Yellow socks, red shorts, and a green shirt, everything looks to be by the book until it comes to the sleeves, which were purposely left out of the shirt worn by the likes of Samuel Eto’o, Rigobert Song, Geremi, Lauren and Patrick M'Boma.

At face value, it looked like a training top, but it has since become a legendary symbol of the country's success, as the Indomitable Lions went on to win the tournament.

Mind you, FIFA were less than impressed with the new style and demanded that it be replaced for the World Cup later that year, with federation’s spokesperson Keith Cooper candidly exclaiming: “They’re not shirts, they’re vests.”

Spoil sports...

Barca's blunder

Nike's design never made it into the shops. Image credit: Mundo Deportivo

If there are any rules for designing kits, number one would surely be 'avoid your arch rivals colours', but Barcelona are known for breaking the occasional rule.

Ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, Nike's finest designers got their heads down and came up with a shirt that resembled Real Madrid more than the Blaugrana.

The design incorporated the patron saint of the Spanish city St George with and planted a red cross on a white background.

Fortunately for supporters it never made it onto the shelves, with the upper echelon's of the club quick to spot the elephant in the room before fans even had the opportunity to riot.

The dreaded dragon

China's dragon themed shirt never made it on to the pitch. Image credit: The Daily Star

Little is known about why China put a stop to their 2018 black and illuminous yellow shirt, making it the mystery kit on this list.

China were renowned for wearing red kits in 2028, just like their flag, however, Nike bravely decided to switch up the script and design an all black shirt, adorned with dragons.

The mythical creatures are synonymous with the country and the design looked snazzy to the naked eye, but it never made it on the pitch.

The Chinese government allegedly intervened and blocked it from being sold in the shops at the last minute, never giving a reason.

It has since been theorised that the dragons caused offence, with the government believing their national symbol should not be branded on a football shirt.

Fiorentina's fumble

Fiorentina were forced to ditch after a Nazi symbol was spotted. Image credit: Getty

Finally, we have perhaps the most notorious kit failure of all time.

Ahead of the 1992/93 Serie A season, Italian side Fiorentina unveiled their new away shirt to the world.

On the surface, the striking 7up-sponsored shirt appeared harmless, featuring the classic club crest, a plain white base, and an eye-catching purple print.

However, after playing four games in the away jersey, fans spotted some concerning details in the design and the players were eventually banned from wearing it.

According to The Guardian, it took La Viola fans until the December of the 1992/93 season to discover that a supposed Swastika had been embedded within the design.

A close-up of the design, which depicts the Nazi swastika. Image credit: Getty

While many believed that the logo had potentially been included on purpose, the Italian club released a statement claiming that the questionable pattern was simply a ‘matter of chance’.

It said: “Fiorentina and the manufacturers, Lotto, would like to underline that the optical [swastika] effect is purely a matter of chance.”

Due to fan outrage, the team were quickly stripped of the kit and were forced to play the remainder of their away games in a completely different kit that season.

It’s said that almost all of the players’ shirts were destroyed, and many followers of Fiorentina themselves disposed of the 92/93 offering.

Topics: Football, Fiorentina, Cameroon, Africa Cup Of Nations, Barcelona, Kit

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno