Umbro Shoes Criticized For Nazi Connotation

Umbro "was bitterly condemned by Jewish groups [Wednesday] for naming a training shoe Zyklon "after the gas used by the Nazis to murder millions in the Holocaust," according to Chris Gray of the London INDEPENDENT, who notes Umbro was attacked by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, whose Shimon Samuels "demanded that the shoe be withdrawn immediately, that an investigation be launched into how they came to be named, and a public apology made." Samuels added the shoes are "an encouragement to neo-Nazis and skinheads who terrorise the football terraces." Umbro spokesperson Nick Crook said that the name "did not appear on the [shoes] but had been used in advertisements for three years. The company had already changed the shoe's name in Britain and planned to do the same in other countries." Crook added that the company "wished to 'express our sincere regret'" (London INDEPENDENT, 8/29).