British designer accuses football club Beerschot of copying her shirt design

Diana Al Shammari, a British designer, has accused the Belgian first division football club Beerschot of plagiarism, according to VRT NWS. She claims that the club copied her idea of embroidering flowers onto football shirts without permission.

The dispute is playing out on Instagram. Al Shammari says that the club's new limited-edition kit, which features embroidered flowers on the chest, is a blatant copy of work that she has developed over the past eight years for teams including Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Belgium's Red Devils, sometimes in collaboration with Adidas.

"I’ve pioneered this floral embroidery concept in football for 8 years, working with major brands, clubs, footballers, and musicians. Seeing it copied in such a bad, lazy and uncreative way — with no credit or collaboration — is really disappointing," Al Shammari responded to a post on the Beerschot Instagram account. "It’s one thing when random factories in China rip it off. It’s another when a supposedly professional club does it. Honestly, it’s embarrassing."

The sportswear company Nova, which produced the shirt, denies any wrongdoing. CEO Arthur Heeren responded publicly, stating that they had been inspired by her work and had contacted her on 16 June to propose a collaboration. When they received no reply, Nova proceeded independently.

Al Shammari cites EU and Belgian copyright laws and is pushing for a settlement with the club. The exchange between her and Nova can still be seen on Instagram.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © K. Beerschot V.A.}