Serie A's green kit ban & why Sassuolo will be unaffected

Earlier this week, Serie A attracted ire from secondary colour fans everywhere when it announced that green kits would be banned. 

Thought to be a direct request from their broadcasters, who were concerned that the players would not be visible against the grass backdrop, the decision was widely ridiculed on social media. 

Naturally, everyone’s first thought of Sassuolo. As their nickname suggests, the Neroverdi play in black and, worryingly, green. Sassuolo already have enough to deal with this summer, with most of their top stars, including Manuel Locatelli and Domenico Berardi, attracting interest from a host of top clubs. The last thing they needed is to redesign their kit. 

Fortunately, as per a report from Football Italia, the Neroverdi should be safe. Serie A only intends to ban kits that are “mostly green” and the dominant colour - well, shade - of Sassuolo’s strip is black. Thank goodness for that, ay? 

Unfortunately, not every side could be as fortunate as Sassuolo. 

If the regulation was brought in at the beginning of last season, Lazio’s away strip - a fetching luminous green number with blue shorts and green socks - would likely have been condemned to the scrapheap. 

Crotone would have also been in trouble. Their third kit featured a forest green colour scheme, not ideal for being shown clearly on a television screen. Napoli’s green camouflage third strip would not have been permitted either. 

Atalanta might have even been penalised for trying to spread a bit of festive cheer. Back in 2019 La Dia released a special charity kit around Christmas time. Green in colour, it also included the outline of a festive scene. Any hopes supporters had of having a Christmas 2021 edition under the tree have been dashed by the ban.