The British designer Diana Al Shammari has accused the Belgian Second Division football club Beerschot of plagiarism. She claims that embroidered flowers on one of club’s shirts are a shameless copy of her work. The company that designed the Beerschot shirt Nova says that it was “inspired” by Diana Al Shammari’s work. The British designer is threatening legal action.
British designer accuses Beerschot football club of plagiarism: “A poor copy of my embroidery work”
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Writing in a reaction on Beerschot’s Instagram page, Diana Al Shammari wrote that “It is very disappointing that this has happened without any form of cooperation or recognition. Moreover, it is a poor copy devoid of inspiration.
Diana Al Shammari has been designing embroidered flower decorations for football shirts for 8 years. In the past big clubs such as Bayern Munich and Manchester City have used her designs on their shirts as has the Belgian national men’s team the Red Devils. She also sometimes works with the sports’ clothing brand Adidas.
Now a floral design adorns a limited edition Beerschot shirt. The British designer says that the Second Division club and the company that makes its shirt Nova didn’t ask her permission.
In a reaction to the designer’s Instagram post, Nova’s CEO Arthur Heeren wrote “Yes, we were inspired by you, but we received no reply to our request for us to work together”. Nova says that it is stands for “local craftsmanship” and “sustainable production in Portugal” and doesn’t use factories that are only chasing profit margins.
“When our designer came up with this design, it rang a bell with me. I thought of your work and sent an email on 16 June to see if we could create something beautiful together. When I didn't receive a reply, we decided to go ahead on our own”, Mr Heeren wrote. He added that no one can invent a style like this for football shirts and claim it forever.
However, Ms Al Shammari disagrees. Also on Instagram, she points to European and Belgian legislation on plagiarism. She says that the design on Beerschot’s shirt goes further than “inspiration” and that it imitates her creative work.
She says that she is prepared to reach a settlement, but if no settlement is forthcoming, she will take legal action.