World football governing body Fifa has been sued in a German court over their decision to ban Cameroon’s one-piece kit.Puma, who manufactured the kit, are demanding US$2.1 million in damages, a spokesman for the company said on Wednesday.
A court in the German city of Nuremberg will study the 39-page lawsuit filed by Puma.
« The misconduct of Fifa and the damage caused by such will be challenged by Puma in a court of law, » said Puma lawyer Reinhard Stuenkel.
Fifa has imposed unclear boundaries and regulations that are open for interpretation, » added Stuenkel, who said official approval of the one-piece kit remained a primary objective for his client.
Stuenkel described the ban as « yet another example of Fifa extending their power beyond the regulations and statutes provided. »
Fifa banned the suit and subsequently imposed a six-point sanction on Cameroon’s 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Cameroon incurred Fifa’s wrath after they ignored instructions to stop wearing the athletics-style kit during the African Cup of Nations tournament in January and February.
The penalty, which would have seriously hindered Cameroon’s chances of reaching the 2006 finals in Germany, was revoked by Fifa’s general assembly in Paris in May.
Fifa lists shirts and shorts as basic equipment in its regulations and insists this implies the items have to be separate.
Cameroon are no strangers to kit controversy, as they turned up for the 2002 African Nations Cup in Mali sporting sleeveless shirts which were also banned by Fifa.
