Critics red card Polish Euro 2012 football strip

New strip causes controversy; photo - PAP/Maciej Kulczyński

Poland's national football team face Italy tomorrow in a friendly game in Wroclaw, in the south west, amid an angry reaction from some fans after the team unveiled their new Euro 2012 strip on Thursday.

This is the first time that Polish players will take to the pitch without being accompanied by the eagle on their chests.

In an exclusive interview for the Polish Radio’s English Section, Michal Listkiewicz, a former president of the Polish FA (PZPN) who now serves as an advisor to the Euro 2012 director, said: “I am a little bit surprised [by the new strip] because in my opinion it would be possible to have both the PZPN logo and the eagle on the shirts, as was the case in the past,” he told our reporter.

“It’s a misunderstanding and we have enough time to return to a normalcy, though naturally not in time for tomorrow’s game. I hope my colleagues from the Polish FA and the sponsor [Nike] will find a solution because we play for the people, for the lovers of Polish national team.”

It seems that Michal Listkiewicz is being a little too optimistic, however. A spokesperson for the Polish FA said that no changes to the design of the strip of Polish players are possible for the next two years.

The members of the Polish team describe the situation as “awkward” and say they had nothing to say on the new design. Some players have stressed that what is most important is that the strip contains the white and red colours of Poland's national flag.

Some of the many critics of the new emblem on the shirts resembles the conservative Law and Justice political party’s logo.

The new emblem on the shirt is that of the new logo of PZPN, following a redesign earlier this year. (mk/pg)

Hear more from the interview with Mr Listkiewicz on Monday