Anger as Adidas 'revises' retro trainer campaign featuring Bella Hadid

Sports apparel brand Adidas has been caught in a storm after announcing it would "revise" its latest shoe campaign with supermodel Bella Hadid after backlash from pro-Israeli groups, with users describing the move as racist.

The sportswear company apologised for the "upset and distress" it caused for choosing the Palestinian-American model as the face of the SL72s, trainers first designed for the 1972 Olympic games in Munich during which 11 Israeli athletes and a German policeman were killed in an attack by a Palestinian militant group.

After the relaunch of the shoe last week, the Israeli government account on X, as well as pro-Israeli groups, slammed Adidas for hiring Hadid as ambassador for the campaign, connecting the shoe to the deaths of Israelis during the games.

Following the outrage, the sporting company apologised for the “unintentional” link and said it would "revise" the remainder of the campaign.

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