North Macedonia have been forced to apologise and change their home kit for Euro 2020 after it sparked complaints from their supporters.
Back in November, North Macedonia made history by beating Georgia in the playoffs to qualify for their first major international tournament as an independent nation. The win was met by jubilant scenes throughout the country as thousands upon thousands of fans looked ahead to a historic few weeks in their sporting history.
However, a crumb of controversy was recently thrown into the mix after North Macedonia fans protested the burgundy shade of the newly released home kit.
When they made their voices heard, the national team’s federation confirmed they’d be reverting back to their current red & yellow strip.
The Macedonian president presented Pope Francis with the new NT jersey today. Only the back of the jersey was released as an official photo. However, journalists also got a look at the front while it was laying on a table.
— Macedonian Football (@MacedonianFooty) May 27, 2021
Odd color. It looks more like what Portugal would wear. pic.twitter.com/Z1GggWGBOD
After the uproar over the new maroon/burgundy jersey, FFM has backtracked and will go back to the old jerseys for EURO 2020.
— Macedonian Football (@MacedonianFooty) May 29, 2021
Muamed Sejdini, the FFM president, posted the below message on his Facebook which was then picked up by the official facebook page of FFM. pic.twitter.com/NLHhx6tebP
“First of all, I express my sincere regret for the negative reactions that were caused by the color of the new jersey. We are aware that the national team jersey is an honor and ambition of every football player from an early age,” FFM president Muamed Sejdini said.
“The national team jersey was prepared with great joy at the request of the players. The team was looking for new national team jerseys. We wanted to meet that requirement.
“Unfortunately, the technical support regarding the colour of the jersey is not in accordance with the requirements of FFM. The federation and the services in FFM take full responsibility for this choice, but will also demand responsibility from the technical partner.
“As president of the federation, I take my responsibility for possible consequences and announce that at the European Championship we will play with the current jerseys.”
Featured image credit: Getty
