Controversial or simply ahead of their time?
Whenever football boots attract controversy, it's usually due to some sort of customisation from the player. You don’t need to cast your mind that far back to remember Wrexham striker Paul Mullins’ appearance in the news for the political messages covering his boots last year.
That’s not the only reason that boots can find themselves in hot water. Everything from new technology to controversial colours has seen boots be criticised in the past. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of football’s most controversial boots of all time. Some of the boots on the list were banned, while others were widely ridiculed, and sometimes the manufacturers saw sense and decided to cancel production. Some even went on to become world-famous designs.
SerafinoSerafino 4th Edge
It takes a lot to disrupt the football boot market. A handful of brands have dominated the space for as long as anyone can remember, but that hasn’t stopped new brands from cropping up and trying to do things differently. One of the most famous – or maybe infamous – attempts came in 2015 when Italian-Australian designer John Serafino came up with a design that celebrated the humble toe-poke.
Dubbed the Serafino 4th Edge, the silhouette had a completely flat surface on the end of the toe, designed to improve the power and accuracy of toe pokes. At the time of its launch, the boot was backed by Harry Redknapp, Nigel Clough and Glenn Hoddle, although it struggled to gain a foothold in the market and disappeared from view. In the years since its launch, Serafino has refocused its “technology” on the NFL, although still with limited success.
Advertisementadidasadidas Primeknit FS
Back in 2014, adidas launched an innovative new design into the football world. Dubbed the Primeknit FS, the new silhouette was the first football boot to combine the boot and sock. The boot itself wasn’t terrible – a laceless black boot similar to the Samba Primeknit that Luis Suarez was wearing at the time – but the addition of the sock section was where the boot fell down.
The calf-high sock was covered with white Three Stripe branding and red trim, and immediately attracted controversy. adidas had unveiled the design while still in the concept phase and had discussed having them on the pitch within a year. That wasn’t to be, though, and to the players’ immense relief, the adidas Primeknit FS never saw the light of day.
Shop the adidas PRIMEKNIT collection here.
PUMAPUMA evoSPEED SL
Durability is a key quality for any pair of boots, meaning that you can wear them over and over again, and they can cope with whatever conditions you put them in. PUMA decided to completely give up on this with the evoSPEED SL, focusing instead on their lightweight construction – they weighed just 103 grams – although this had some unfortunate downsides.
Right from the off, PUMA was open that the boots could only be worn 10 times before they started to disintegrate. While the brand incorporated this into its marketing strategy (a sticker said that the boots were “not for training days”) it was still widely criticised at the time. I guess there’s a reason that all boots are designed to last longer than 10 uses nowadays.
Shop all the latest PUMA football boots here.
JOMAJOMA Champion Max
When Spanish sportswear label JOMA unveiled the Champion Max silhouette in 2017, people saw an instant likeness. The high-cut design, the branding and even the patterns across the upper all shared similarities with the Nike Mercurial Superfly V. At least the sole unit wasn’t inspired by that boot, although some fans noticed that it resembled the adidas X 17+ in that regard.
While the Champion Max design was mocked for its similarities, the JOMA boot also retailed for half the price of the Mercurial Superfly V. Its affordability showed, though, with criticisms of its heavier design, as well as an upper that was stiffer and less flexible than its inspirations.
Shop JOMA football boots here.