League of Ireland side Bohemians have been forced to drop their new away kit, which was set to feature a giant image of Bob Marley on the front.
In a somewhat tenuous link, Bohs wanted to include Marley’s picture to celebrate the musical heritage of their Dalymount stadium, with The Wailers having played one gig there back in the 1980s.
However, the club have since been contacted by representatives of the agency that handles Marley’s image, who informed them that they do not have the rights to use the legendary reggae star’s face.
In an official statement, Bohs explained they thought they had followed correct procedure to obtain the image rights via a third-party photo licensing company.
“The Bob Marley representative agency has informed us that this company did not have the right to grant any such licence for this image,” the Dublin-based club said.
As such, the Marley shirt — which the singer’s own son Ky-Mani described as “the dopest” he’d ever seen — has been scrapped.
Fans who registered for pre-orders can either request refunds or store credit or purchase Bohs’ tweaked re-design, which features the image of a clench fist instead.
#Bohs statement on 2019 away jersey redesign: https://t.co/JKXVuKzAqz ✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/JqCIMx9483
— Bohemian FC 🔴⚫ (@bfcdublin) 5 November 2018
The club say the fist is a symbol of “unity, strength and resistance” — three virtues that Marley and his music both were and continue to be synonymous with.
“Finally, [we] would like to thank the thousands of people who made contact with the club since the pre-order release, from over 45 countries in five continents,” the Bohs statement concluded.
“We were astonished at the truly global reaction we received.”
Such a shame. So close and yet so far.