Representatives of a rival club did not share this stance. Partly in reaction to this, several of AIK’s organized supporter associations chose to join together in boycotting their game against AIK, scheduled for April 6 at Tele2 Arena, to underline their stance on V.A.R., based on the members’ voting. In response, the club decided to adopt an unusual approach for the launch of its away jersey.

The campaign’s photography took place at Dick Turpin Pub, a key location within the club’s supporter culture. To further highlight the prevailing mood among the supporters’ loyal away following, several of them were invited to present the new away jersey.

AIK Fotboll typically uses the motto ‘football is best experienced on-site.’ To ensure this remains true in the future, the club’s members have identified V.A.R. as one of the most significant threats to the unique experience that only a football match can create:

‘What would life be without that pure, raw, almost overwhelming euphoria that sweeps through the body when AIK scores a goal? Do we really want to replace the absolute peak of joy with a referee room scrutinizing the situation for several minutes? And when such scrutiny isn’t a guarantee for the right decision, it’s clear we need to work to preserve the absolute best part of attending a football match: the unrestrained joy of scoring,’ says Martin Ubeira, a member of AIK.

The away jersey is now available to preorder at aikshop.se.