Snake Graphic Slithers Away from Inter Milan Away Kit in Champions League

When Italian side Inter Milan took to the pitch to take on Ukraine’s Shaktar Donetsk in UEFA Champions League play on Tuesday, there was something missing from their kits.

Inter wore their white away kits in the game, but they were missing the blue-and-black snake graphic that featured when they were unveiled and when they were worn during Serie A games this season.

*Inter Milan in their modified away kits against Shaktar Donetsk in Champions League play on Tuesday, Sept. 28. (Photo courtesy **@Inter_en** / Twitter)*

*Inter Milan’s away kit as seen when it was unveiled in July. (Photo courtesy **Footy Headlines**)*

The change was likely requested by UEFA to have the kits comply with their equipment regulations. According to Football-Italia.net, the UEFA regulations state:

The choice of pattern is unrestricted with the following exceptions (to be assessed at the sole discretion of the UEFA administration):
– the pattern must be non-pictorial, e.g. it must not contain any images, illustrations or any other symbols (any pattern that does not satisfy this requirement will be considered as a decorative element);
– the pattern must not allow a reasonable person to identify a manufacturer or sponsor relevant to the equipment (any pattern than does not satisfy this requirement will be considered a trademark).

Inter also had to change their sponsor logo to comply with UEFA regulations. In Serie A, the “$INTER FAN TOKEN” logo contains a small line underneath reading “by socios.com”, but that was not present against Shaktar.

*Inter Milan wore their white away kits with the snake graphic intact against Fiorentina in Serie A play on Tuesday, Sept. 21. (Photo courtesy **@Inter_en** / Twitter)*

The snake graphic is a reference to the biscione, a historical symbol of the city of Milan. This motif also extends to Inter’s 2021-22 home kits, which feature a tonal blue snakeskin pattern in place of the club’s usual blue-and-black vertical stripes.

Feature photo courtesy @Inter_en / Twitter