If you can't understand why neither Portugal nor Wales were wearing their traditional red kit tonight, you're not alone.
Portugal were the designated home team for the semi final, which by UEFA rules mean they should wear their home kit of all red. However, their particular shade of red was deemed too dark for the UEFA colour police, who were afraid of a clash with Wales's charcoal changed strip.
Literally the worst pair of kits to contest a major semi-final.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) July 6, 2016
Was there a clash? Judge for yourself.
In an even dumber nod to bureaucracy, according to Walesonline.co.uk, Wales were refused a request to then wear their home jersey, given Portugal would have to don their green abomination regardless. This was refused, for reasons unknown, considering Wales were in a similar position for their group game with Russia when they were allowed to wear red.
If UEFA then let Wales wear their home, it'd effectively be telling countries to have aways which clashed enough that they'd never be worn
— Museum of Jerseys (@museumofjerseys) July 6, 2016
It should be noted UEFA have less to answer in this regard than FIFA who almost ruined the 2014 World Cup with their "light vs dark" monochrome obsession.
I'm not suggesting we should take the lead of school's rugby or anything where the clashes can be ridiculous, but if GAA viewers can tell the difference between Galway and Cork without any trouble, why can football fans not tell the difference between two completely different colours, especially in the HD era? Why football's governing bodies have such an obsession with making it easier for Joe Public to tell teams apart is just baffling. Do you know any football fan who wants to see anything but traditional colours on display in games?
Can we please give football fans some credit for not being absolute idiots and let at least one team wear their home kit?
Given Wales have only worn this non traditional charcoal offering once in the tournament - in their defeat to England - it's more than safe to say, this ridiculous decision by UEFA is the sole reason for their rather tame exit from the competition.
