A clash between their new home kits and their opponents’ away kits forced English Premier League side Newcastle United to change things up partway through the first half of a friendly match last weekend.
Newcastle hosted German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in a preseason friendly at St. James’ Park on Saturday, August 15. And, as the home side, the Magpies came out of the tunnel wearing their 2026-27 adidas home kits with their usual black-and-white stripes. But it soon became apparent that those kits were too similar to Bayer’s new away kits, made by New Balance, which are mint green with a blue fluid pattern on the shoulders and sleeves.
So, at the hydration break in the middle of the first half, Newcastle took the opportunity to change into their new “fresh lilac” third kit, which had only been unveiled a couple of days prior.
“I was a bit surprised when they came out for kick-off,” Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle was quoting as saying by the BBC. “[The change] was done because [the shirt colour] was so close to each other so it was smart to use the first hydration beak to change it. Probably from the stands, from your perspective, it was not easy to distinguish between the two teams.”
The third kit, according to Newcastle’s website, “offers a reimagined take on purple shirts of the past – pairing a lighter shade with deep purple detailing to create a striking look for our players on the pitch and you, our fans, in the stands.”
Bayer Leverkusen went on to win the match, 2-1.
This isn’t the first time Newcastle have made an emergency kit change to avoid a clash with their opponent. In August 2022, the Magpies pressed a pre-match jersey into game action on a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion when it was deemed all their kit options at the time were too similar to Brighton’s home strip.
