Scottish Soccer Club Accidentally Used Nazi Image on Program
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Here in North America, sports franchises use the most obvious cover art for their game day programs. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter fist-pumping after a playoff victory. Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson doused in champagne.
Surely things are the same over in the UK, but last week Scottish soccer club Airdire United attempted something a little more historical with its program in honor of Remembrance Day. The commemoration backfired. Airdire officials thought last Saturday’s program portrayed jubilant Australian troops returning by train from a World War Two battlefield. Instead, the photo features German soldiers – ahem, Nazis.
Superimposed over the photo were the words “Lest We Forget” and “Supporting Our Heroes.”
According to an Australian newspaper, club officials claim PoppyScotland, a war veterans charity and remembrance project, supplied the photo. The organization says otherwise.
In any event, Airdire chairman Jim Ballantyne apologized: “We always have a minute of silence and we also played in special strips bearing the poppy, all of which makes the programme gaffe very embarrassing.”
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