Euro 2012 shirts in chemical warning

Football fans buying Euro 2012 team shirts could be risking their health, a consumer watchdog has warned.

The shirts of tournament co-host Poland are so bad they should be banned, said BEUC, the umbrella group representing the EU’s national consumer organisations.

Research into the chemicals used in official team strips in Poland, Spain, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, France, The Netherlands and Portugal, showed all nine contained “worrying” levels of chemicals.

Lead was found in the team strip from six of the countries – Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, France and Italy. In kits from Spain and Germany, lead exceeded the legal level for children’s products and Portuguese and Dutch shirts contained nickel.