Adidas confirms Moroccan art inspired Algerian soccer jersey

By TARIK EL-BARAKAH
Associated Press

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — The sports apparel company Adidas says it has resolved a dispute with Morocco over the new jersey collection for Algeria’s national soccer team. Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication accused the German company of “cultural appropriation” last month, saying that the design on the jerseys is a rip off of a traditional mosaic pattern of colored earthenware tiles, known in Morocco as zellige. Adidas acknowledged in a statement on Friday that the design on the rival North African team’s jerseys was “inspired indeed by the zellige mosaic pattern and was at no time intended to offend anyone.”