Premiership final: Saracens and Sale Sharks to wear away strips to avoid colour clash
- Published
A repeat of the black against maroon kits, when Saracens hosted Sale last October, would present a colour clash for some viewers
Gallagher Premiership final: Saracens v Sale Sharks |
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Venue: Twickenham Date: Saturday, 27 May Kick-off: 15:00 BST |
Coverage: Coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Manchester (via FM, digital radio, BBC Sounds and online), with live text commentary and updates on the BBC Sport website. |
Saracens and Sale Sharks will both wear their away kits in the Premiership final on 27 May to avoid a clash for colour-blind viewers.
Sarries, as the top seeds, would have worn their black home strip against the Sharks, who have a maroon away kit.
Colour Blind Awareness recommends avoiding the black against red colour combination for the benefit of supporters with a vision deficiency.
Saracens will instead wear their white away shirts at Twickenham.
Premiership Rugby has been working with Colour Blind Awareness, a UK-based non-profit organisation that offers help and advice on the condition, to try and make rugby as inclusive as possible for all fans of the game.
One in 12 men and one in 200 women worldwide are affected by the deficiency, according to Colour Blind Awareness, external.
The decision will aid fans in the stadium and viewers on television to differentiate between the two sides during the match.
"Our clubs have been overwhelmingly supportive of our ambition to eliminate kit clashes with a collective desire to increase inclusivity of our sport to all audiences," Premiership Rugby's head of broadcast Ollie Lewis said.
Efforts to aid colour-blind fans have already been made in football, with the English Football League allowing shirt changes to avoid clashes this season, while Italy's top-flight Serie A banned clubs from wearing green change strips before the 2021-22 campaign.
"We are delighted that Premiership Rugby and the clubs have taken positive steps to avoid kit clash situations for colour blind fans and players," Kathryn Albany-Ward, the chief executive of Colour Blind Awareness, said.
"Bearing in mind the significant number of colour blind people who watch and play rugby, it is important that the accessibility needs of these groups are recognised to enable all fans of the sport to have a positive viewing experience that isn't limited by avoidable colour clashes."
Saracens finished top of the Premiership table this season and are bidding to win their first league title since 2019, while Sale last lifted the trophy in 2006.