Adidas Arabia apologises after ad featuring Israeli soldier

ISTANBUL:

Adidas Arabia, a regional branch of German sportswear company Adidas, apologised Monday over an advertising campaign featuring a former Israeli soldier, as the company's global and other regional social media accounts made

no similar public statement amid boycott calls over the campaign.

The company featured Shalev Biton, who lost his left leg after being wounded while serving in the Israeli army in 2021, in a campaign promoting its Single Shoe service.

"We recognise that an image used in a recent local campaign has raised concerns and strong reactions," Adidas Arabia said in a statement.

"It was not our intention in any way to cause offense, and we apologize to everyone affected by this," it said, adding they were treating the reactions "with the utmost seriousness."

The apology was issued through Adidas Arabia's local social mediaaccounts, rather than through the German company's global channels.

As of Monday, Adidas' main global accounts and other regional accounts had not issued a similar apology or public statement addressing

criticism over the campaign, which featured an amputee who had served in the Israeli army amid Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

Regional Adidas account with fewer than 1.5 million followers issues apology after backlash, while company's main account, followed by more than 30 million, has made no public reference to the controversy.

Biton was one of 11

disabled athletes

featured on posters displayed at Adidas stores in Israel.

Pro-Palestinian activists criticized the decision

to include a former Israeli soldier in a campaign centered on amputees, contrasting the

promotion with the thousands of Palestinians who have lost limbs during Israel's war on Gaza.