UEFA Reveals Reasons for Banning Ajax Amsterdam from Using the Logo of The Late Bob Marley

DBasia.news – Ajax Amsterdam pinned a logo in honor of the late Bob Marley on its third jersey. The logo was banned by UEFA, here’s why.

Ajax released their third jersey of the season in style. The Dutch giant carries the theme in memory of Bob Marley, the late legendary reggae musician from Jamaica.

The jersey is black, with green, red, and yellow strokes as a match. The colors of the Jamaican flag are of course in honor of Bob Marley.

In addition, there is an embedding of the logo of three small birds on the back of the neck. The logo is symbolic of the song Three Little Birds, which was adopted into the club’s anthem in recent seasons.

Well, according to The Athletic, the logo of the three little birds was banned by UEFA. According to the European football authority, the logo is considered another form of expression, apart from sponsorship or club identity.

At the time of Ajax Amsterdam against PEC Zwolle last weekend, the Bob Marley logo seemed to be missing from the third jersey. Ajax confirmed that UEFA banned it.

“The European Football Association [UEFA] sees it as a different expression from the club logo, shirt sponsor logo or sleeve sponsor. Other expressions are not allowed.”

The relevant section of the UEFA regulations is Article 7 of the UEFA Equipment Regulations. In that rule, the collar of the jersey can only embed a logo or writing that identifies the team.

“The collar zone: this area must only contain the team identification in accordance with Paragraph 19.01. The collar zone must be free of manufacturer identification or sponsor advertising.”

Ajax’s third jersey with the theme of Bob Marley’s honor is indeed selling well. The website reportedly went down due to too many orders, which according to the club’s marketing manager Menno Geelen the jersey was four times more sold than any other jersey.

When the new Ajax jersey was released, Bob Marley’s daughter, Cedella, said she was very happy. He considers football is a freedom that must be celebrated, which is now an irony because it is banned by UEFA.

“Stories like this warm my heart and show how impactful songs like Three Little Birds can be. Football was everything to my dad… and to use his words: ‘football is freedom,” he says.