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UEFA has been criticized for allowing a kit clash in Liverpool's Champions League trip to Frankfurt, which affected some color blind viewers' ability to distinguish between the two teams.
Frankfurt lined up in all black kit, while Liverpool lined up in an all red kit, lacking sufficient contrast for the two sets of players to be differentiated from one another.
Many color blind soccer fans raised the issue on social media, with one writing: "Any subscriber who is color blind watching Frankfurt v Liverpool tonight must be totally frustrated. Both teams are wearing dark shirts, dark shorts and dark socks. No thought given to anyone color blind from the organiser or media."
Another said: "Both teams may aswell be wearing same colour. UEFA - directly contravening your own guideness on color blindness Shameful."
A third wrote: "This game is an absolute horror show if you're color blind. I genuinely can't tell that there are two teams on the pitch."
Humans have three types of cone cells in their eyes, which absorb red, green or blue light. Color blindness occurs when there is an issue with any of those cells; issues usually occur with the red and green cells.
Color blindness affects over 300 million people worldwide, with one in every 12 men and one in every 200 women experiencing issues with their sight in that regard.
In a document shared on the UEFA website, black and red is specifically mentioned as a color combination which can cause issues for color blind people when trying to distinguish between the two colors.
Underneath a section titled 'Key points to consider for home and away kits,' the document says steps should be taken to 'avoid single colour red, orange, green or black kits, if possible.'
Liverpool's 5-1 win over Frankfurt spelled the end of a run of four successive defeats for Arne Slot's side, as five different players got on the scoresheet.
The Reds fell behind to Rasmus Kristensen's strike, but were soon level when Hugo Ekitike equalized on the 35-minute mark; by half-time, Liverpool was winning 3-1 courtesy of further goals from Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai scored in the second half, and while Florian Wirtz did not score, it was an encouraging night for Liverpool's new No.7 as he assisted those goals for Gakpo and Szoboszlai.
There is concern over the fitness of Premier League-record signing Alexander Isak, though, after he was forced off at half-time due to a groin injury.
“Let’s hope it’s not that bad, but he had to go off because he felt his groin," Liverpool head coach Slot said. "Many people wanted me to play him more and we had to find the balance and unfortunately today that balance didn’t work out for us perfectly. But let’s hope for the best."
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