The equipment manufacturer Puma has definitely been at the center of all the conversations involving the jerseys of this World Cup for several days. Mocked internationally for certain outfits, notably those of the Swiss team, the German firm once again put itself forward in a very bad way during the duel between South Korea and the Czech Republic.
Indeed, a small pulling of his shirt was enough for the Czech Pavel Sulc’s outfit to fall into tatters and reveal the bare lower back of the attacker. His disconcerted expression when discovering the state of his t-shirt is worth the detour.
This episode obviously recalls the meeting between Switzerland and France at Euro 2016. That day, Admir Mehmedi, Blerim Dzemaili, Breel Embolo and Granit Xhaka twice saw their jerseys completely torn after a light pull from an opponent.
“I hope Puma doesn’t make condoms,” Xherdan Shaqiri quipped after the match at the SRF microphone. The equipment manufacturer admitted a manufacturing defect in the batch of Nati jerseys.
On the Czech side, only Pavel Sulc has experienced such a misadventure so far in this World Cup. But in the coming days, several nations, including Austria, Portugal, Morocco and Switzerland, dressed by Puma, will enter the fray.
What to see a festival of torn jerseys? If this were to happen to the green tunic of Switzerland, it would really be a double penalty for the Nati.
