During their recent 4-1 home win over Troyes, Lyon’s fans unfurled a banner protesting the use of green boots, specifically the adidas X Speedportal, due to the colour being that of bitter rivals, St. Etienne.
Football fans can be a passionate bunch. Colours represent your team in all walks of life, and the thought of wearing even an item of clothing with the colour of a rival is just unbearable for some. For fans of Olympique Lyon, the presence of their players wearing the launch colourway of the new adidas X Speedportal has proved too much, with green being the colour of rivals AS Saint-Etienne.
Fans displayed a banner protesting the use of the boots, with a pair of green X Speedportal boots within a red circle, crossed out and accompanied by the message “Respectez Nos Traditions” (Respect our traditions). Five of the players that started the game for Lyon wear the X Speedportal, with 13 of the squad all wearing the boot. It’s a high number of players from one team, and it’s just unfortunate that the colour is that of St-Etienne. This feeling of unrest comes despite the fact that St-Etienne are currently competing in Ligue 2, and that they received an absolute spanking at the hands of Le Havre on the weekend.
Last week Lyon shared training images that showed the likes of Malo Gusto and Rayan Cherki with the boots, with several fans expressing their disapproval on social media at that point.
Former striker Sidney Govou also reacted to the issue and pointed out that he had worn green boots for one match and three training sessions before former manager and Lyon legend Bernard Lacombe told him to throw them away.
But this is hardly the first time that a team has worn boots that are the colour of a rival. Around 15 years ago in Germany, Borussia Dortmund players were called out by fans for wearing blue boots, with it being the colour of rivals Schalke, while Schalke players were in turn criticised for wearing yellow boots – BVB’s primary colour. Nowadays it doesn’t seem to be an issue, and aside from players occasionally highlighting their discontent with a colourway due to its links with an opposing team, it doesn’t seem to be all that much of an issue for most fans.
An easy solution with Lyon would be for players to switch out into the blacked out Shadowportal colourway, an option that is more commonly taken up by grassroots and lower leagues, although it's unlikely adidas would be willing to see a host of their premium players not wearing the current on-pitch colourway.
With the ever increasing range of colours on offer, there will inevitably be issues if fans want to find them, but this incident perhaps was more of an issue due to the overwhelming number of players wearing the launch look of the X Speedportal. Having said that, give it a beat and they’ll all be switching into the next colourway, with looks often only lasting for a few months. Ultimately, it’s an issue that the fans will have with the brands, as the players are contracted to them and as a result pretty much have to wear what they’re told to.
Pick up the adidas X Speedportal at prodirectsoccer.com
