UEFA Rules Block Germany’s 1990 Green Shirt

Strict Nations League requirements on sleeve emblems and chest-number visibility forced Germany to wear adidas’s newly unveiled black away kit.

Overview

UEFA refused to clear a planned green 1990-style retro shirt because the design did not leave the required free space on the sleeves for Nations League and UEFA Foundation emblems and did not show player numbers on the chest.
As a result, Germany used a newly unveiled black adidas away kit for Jürgen Klopp’s Nations League debut against the Netherlands after the planned retro shirt was ruled non-compliant.
adidas moved the black kit’s release forward so it could be worn immediately, making it the first public use of the jersey before the supplier change to Nike in January.
Reports led by Bild say the DFB may instead use the white World Cup home shirts for imminent home fixtures in Augsburg and Munich, but that specific plan has limited independent corroboration.
The episode highlights how UEFA’s equipment rules can override nostalgic designs and could alter how federations and manufacturers vet retro or special-edition shirts before public launches.