Are there countries that ban the number 88 on sport shirts?

A declaration of intent for fight against anti-Semitism in football was signed today at Interior Ministry between the Minister of the Interior Matteo Planting yourself, the Minister for Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi, the National Coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism Giuseppe Shepherd and the president of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina. "Today - explained Piantedosi - we are finalizing an objective that we set ourselves some time ago. There is a lot to do on the topic and we also aim to dispel the doubt that there may be some resistance on these issues in the world of sport."

The number 88 is prohibited on shirts, that's why
In the document there is the prohibition for the footballers of wear shirt number 88. The 88 is in fact used in neo-Nazi groups to symbolize the Heil Hitler salute (h is the eighth letter of the alphabet). Furthermore, Pientedosi continued, "the reference to the international definition of anti-Semitism is incorporated into the companies' code of ethics. There is therefore a ban on the use by fans of symbols that may recall Nazism; the responsibility of members to hold a non-discriminatory language in all public events; the definition of the methods for interrupting matches in the event of incidents of discrimination. The proactive attitude of companies in this field will also be positively evaluated."

From the 2023/24 season on, no player in Serie A will be seen wearing the no.88 on the back of their shirt, as per a decision taken by the Italian Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Sport and the FIGC - the Italian football association. There is now a ban on the No.88 being worn by players in Italian football.

The ban comes as part of a bigger movement seeking to eliminate anti-Semitism from Italian football, and there will now also be a protocol to follow that could see games be stopped in the event of anti-Semitic chants or displays. The move had been rumoured for some time, but was confirmed on June 27, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.