The number 88 has been considered a covert neo-Nazi symbol in German football for years, which is why some federal states have launched initiatives to ban it on jerseys.
A Berlin football official has announced he will continue his campaign to ban the number 88 in the city’s leagues, although his proposal was recently rejected. Vice President of the Football Association of Berlin Özgur Özvatan he told the German agency dpa that he would not give up on the initiative and that he would present it again to the competent authorities.
Among neo-Nazis, the number 88 represents a veiled reference to the “Heil Hitler” greeting, since the letter H is the eighth in the alphabet. Özvatan believes that banning that number could help clubs in early recognition of possible members of the extreme right in their ranks.
Clubs cannot always have everything under control, and such a ban could act as an early warning system, Özvatan said.
The proposal to ban number 88 was rejected in November, with 52 votes against and 48 for. According to Özvatan, some clubs have expressed concern about the possible consequences, including Berlin club BFC Germania 1888, the oldest football club in Germany, which feared the ban could affect its name. Some clubs have also expressed fears that the number 18, which is sometimes associated with Adolf Hitler’s initials, could be banned in the future.
The famous German soccer player Jürgen Klinsmann wore number 18 throughout his career, including the World Cup in 1990, when Germany won the championship title.
In some other parts of Germany the number 88 it’s already banned on jerseys. In the Bundesliga and other leagues, players can only wear numbers from 1 to 49, while some clubs, such as Bayer Leverkusen, do not allow fans to order replica jerseys with the number 88.
Last year, the German Football Association and Adidas they withdrew national team jerseys with number 44 from sale, after it was determined that the design of the number resembles the symbolism of the SS, writes the dpa agency.
(www.jabuka.tv | Photo: X)
