Manchester City has broken an important FIFA rule

Thanks to the victory in the Club World Cup held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Manchester City can find new energy to turn around a championship that seems to pose more than a few challenges. The Blues, defeating the Japanese team Urawa 3-0 in the semifinals and the Fluminense, winner of the Copa Libertadores, 4-0 in the final, conclude 2023 in the best possible way. However, given Guardiola's club's smooth victory, an aspect that has sparked much discussion - in addition to Rodri's injury and a theatrical scene by Felipe Melo and Kyle Walker - concerns a well-known FIFA regulation broken by Manchester City. This is rule 7.2.2 of the FIFA Equipment Regulations, which explains that the color of players' numbers and names must correspond, besides being in clear contrast with the kit's shade.

The Blues would have violated this rule both in the match against Urawa and in the one against Fluminense. Against the Japanese club, Manchester City took the field with a special version of the away kit characterized by names and numbers of a different color: only Ederson complied with the regulation, playing the match with a green jersey with numbers and name of the exact same color. In the final, on the contrary, the outfield players played with a compliant uniform, unlike Ederson who spent more than 90 minutes on the field with a jersey where the name and number were in two different shades of purple. It is unlikely that City intentionally tried to circumvent this rule; instead, it is plausible that the federation lacked attention, thus creating a precedent that will serve as a lesson for future events.