Дэлхийн аваргын шөвгийн 16-ын шатанд АНУ-ын шигшээ баг Бельгитэй Сиэтл хотын “Люмен Филд”-д даваа гарагт тулна. Өөрийн талбайдаа тоглож буй АНУ үндсэн өмсгөл болох улаан, цагаан судалтай хувцсаа өмсөх боломжгүй болсон тул бүхэлдээ хөх өнгийн зочин багийн өмсгөлөөр талбайд гарах шийдвэр гаргажээ.
Энэхүү шийдвэр нь өнгөрсөн гуравдугаар сард болсон нөхөрсөг тоглолтын үеэр тоглогчид болон хөгжөөн дэмжигчид багуудыг ялгахад хүндрэлтэй байсан туршлагаас үүдэлтэй юм. Тухайн үед АНУ-ын улаан, цагаан судалтай өмсгөл нь Бельгийн улаан өнгийн үндсэн өмсгөлтэй ижил төстэй харагдаж байсан нь талбай дээрх тоглогчдод тоглолтын үеэр багийн нөхдөө олж харахад төвөг учруулж байв.
АНУ-ын шигшээ багийн ахлагч Кристиан Пулишич тоглолтын үеэр хувцасны өнгө ижил байх нь бөмбөг хүлээн авахад хүндрэл учруулдаг гэж онцолсон бол Бельгийн хагас хамгаалагч Амаду Онана уг асуудлыг туйлын таагүй явдал хэмээн тодорхойлж байсан юм. Олон улсын хөлбөмбөгийн холбооны дүрэмд зааснаар багууд өөр хоорондоо тод ялгаатай хувцаслах ёстой бөгөөд ФИФА-гийн шаардлагын дагуу ийнхүү АНУ-ын тал хөх өнгийн өмсгөлийг сонгосон байна.
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The United States is co-hosting the World Cup and is the designated home team — so why is Mauricio Pochettino’s side wearing its away jersey against Belgium?
Instead of its classic white and red striped Nike home jersey, the men’s national team will take to the field in its all-navy blue kit to face Belgium in Monday’s round-of-16 tie at Lumen Field in Seattle.
It is only the second time the USMNT have worn the kit in this summer’s World Cup, and it will do so despite Rudi Garcia’s Belgium team being the designated ‘away’ side, FIFA previously confirmed.
The reason why lies in the color scheme of the kits. Belgium’s home jersey is red with yellow Adidas stripes, paired with black shorts and socks.
The away jersey, meanwhile, has a white base with bubblegum blue and pink patches, paired with white shorts and white or black socks.
Belgium’s home strip is predominantly red. (Fran Santiago / Getty Images)
If the U.S. team was to wear its white and red jersey, it would naturally clash with Belgium’s red home kit. And if Belgium wore its light-colored away jersey, that too would clash, in both instances making it harder for players, fans and officials to differentiate the two teams while in action.
In fact, the teams fielded the latter kit combination before, however, and the results were not pretty.
In March, the USMNT played Belgium in a pre-World Cup friendly, losing 5-2 in Atlanta. On and off the pitch, many people struggled to differentiate the players from each country, especially at set pieces where they were gathered together.
Belgium wore its away strip last time it faced the U.S., causing trouble for players and fans. (Dirk Waem / Belga Mag / Belga / AFP via Getty Images)
The clash was such that multiple sources familiar with the situation, who remained anonymous as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, toldThe Athletic at the time that the U.S side was forced to assess whether it would be possible to recover alternative jerseys from the team hotel.
USMNT star Christian Pulisic told reporters afterwards that the jerseys were “difficult to deal with.” “A lot of times you get the ball, you look up like and you can’t really like lock in on someone,” he added. “You only can base it off the color of the shirt. That’s how it works. And when it’s very similar, it’s not difficult.”
He was not the only one to express difficulties, with Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana calling the clash “awful.”
The International Football Association Board’s laws of the game say — in Law 4, detailing “Player Equipment” — that the two teams must wear colors that distinguish them from each other and the match officials.
FIFA’s regulations point to this potential problem, outlining in its World Cup regulations in Article 28 that each team must have a minimum of “two different and contrasting” kits, with “one predominantly dark and one predominantly light.”
Usually, if the kits are at risk of being too similar, one team would wear an alternative strip as FIFA’s preference is for each team to wear its first-choice colors during matches — but this time around, both teams are in their away kits.
In March, sources close to the Royal Belgian Football Association indicated that even if its team had worn its red jersey, it would not have resolved the issue, as it would cause difficulties with the red stripes of the USMNT jersey. The RBFA view was that the onus should have been on the U.S. to wear its navy blue kit, which it will do on Monday night.
The round-of-16 tie will take place at 5pm PT (8pm ET).
