Russian football players get new shirts after fans object to sleeves

Russia's national football team is getting a new uniform for the European Championship after fans objected to a design featuring the national flag upside-down.

The Russian football federation rejected the design last month after a fan backlash to the Adidas design, which had red sleeves trimmed with blue and white stripes at the bottom. That redblue-white order mimics the stripes on Serbia's flag, while Russia's has white on top and red on the bottom.

Last week Adidas unveiled the new shirts with blue and white stripes trimming the red sleeves, creating the effect of a tricolour flag, similar to uniforms the brand designed for Germany.

But while the colours are in the right order on the German shirt, the Russian shirts put the colours in the reverse order to the national white, blue and red tricolour when players have their arms at their sides.

The company described the shirt as “reintroducing the strong, bold colours of the nation’s flag” while the team’s manager Stanislav Cherchesov said it presented an “interesting sleeve solution.”

“When fans support the team by clapping with their arms in the air, you’ll be able to see the Russian flag on the sleeves,” he said.

The new shirts were already on sale in official Adidas stores.

Russia's players wore their old kit for two extra games of European qualifying as other teams tried out their new uniforms.

Federation president Alexander Dyukov says Adidas produced a new design and promised that Russia will no longer have to share variations on a basic design with other countries. It will instead get bespoke shirts.

Dyukov says in comments reported by state news agency Tass that Russia will have "an individual, unique uniform, basically an individual cut, you could say, and we're thankful to Adidas for that."

As one of the co-hosts for the European Championship, Russia plays Belgium and Finland at home in St. Petersburg in the group stage, followed by fellow host Denmark away.

Russia's status as co-host isn't affected by new sanctions against Russian sports from the World Anti-Doping Agency. Since the European Championships is a continental event, Russian football players also won't have to wear neutral uniforms.