CONSIDERING THE POLITICAL climate in Spain currently, everything seems precariously balanced.

With well-documented divisions between Catalonia and Madrid, it’s certainly not going to take much for either side to be drawn into more animosity.

As was the case earlier this week.

It seemed a pretty innocuous event: the launch of the official jersey Spain will wear at next summer’s World Cup in Russia.

But, it’s led to more controversy and chaos.

The manufacturers – Adidas – were inspired by the design of the 1994 World Cup shirt and borrowed heavily from it for this one.

So, it includes some red, blue and yellow diamond shapes that run vertically down the right side.

Spain's kit for Russia next summer features colours of 1930s republic flag #timing pic.twitter.com/fnTiABaYHC

— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) November 6, 2017

So far, so fair.

However, some feel that that the dark blue colour veers into purple territory. And purple has deep-rooted and contentious historical connotations.

While the Spanish flag is red and yellow, the Republican flag – still used today by those who oppose the monarchy – also includes purple and critics of the new jersey design have been quick to point fingers.

They say that the purple on the shirt conjures up memories of the country’s Second Republic, which lasted from 1931 until 1939, and of the wider Civil War.

Purple? Blue? Row over Spain's new shirt plus Barça's latest transfer target in today's #tsfp Morning Paper Review.https://t.co/8JxtlYPVqY pic.twitter.com/4MBjEgqHcN

— Spanish Football Pod (@tsf_podcast) November 7, 2017

Adidas and the Spanish Football Association issued a statement on Tuesday and tried to exert some calm.

The shirt that the Spanish team will wear during the 2018 World Cup, does not have any political connotations”.

Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:

Nike left red-faced and vow to change NBA jerseys after players suffer ‘wardrobe malfunctions’