Cardiff entitled to get shirty

WHEN Glasgow Warriors turned up for their European Challenge Cup match in Cardiff on Sunday, the home side noticed a problem. The shirts of the two teams were close to identical. Cardiff Blues — the clue is in the name — were told as the home side it was their duty to change. They insisted Glasgow should have worn white. Neither team would back down, the match went ahead, identification was difficult and Cardiff lost 29-12. They are considering a complaint to the organisers. Increasingly, this is a factor. Shirt changes are part of the commercial exercise and are not made to prevent clashes. So, Manchester City will change out of their pale blue shirts against a team in red, but not against Chelsea or Leicester, who also wear blue — albeit a different shade. Meanwhile, some switches bring the colours closer together than they would be if unchanged. In a world in which players, managers, even owners are often passing through, a club’s colours are one of the strongest forms of identity. Why surrender that unless it is necessary? Particularly as, in football at least, most of the change strips are the colour of grey socks left in the wash.