Critics see red over blue team kit

The lack of red in Britain's Stella McCartney-designed official team kit for the London Olympics could leave some athletes feeling blue, as well as irritating the Welsh.

The lack of red in Britain's Stella McCartney-designed official team kit for the London Olympics could leave some athletes feeling blue, as well as irritating the Welsh.

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University professor and sports psychologist Robert Barton, co-author of a 2005 report that demonstrated how athletes performed better in red colours, feared the predominance of blue could backfire.

England won the 1966 World Cup in red shirts and socks, their sole success in the tournament, while 'Red Devils' Manchester United and 'Mighty Reds' Liverpool have also been hugely successful in that colour.

Previous British Olympic kits have seen more red featured along with the other colours of the Union flag, white and blue.

The newspaper also quoted clinical sports psychologist Victor Thompson as saying the designer "may have missed an opportunity" to include more red in the design.

The adidas kit was revealed at the Tower of London on Thursday with leading medal prospects parading in front of the cameras. McCartney reconstructed Britain's flag in shades of blue, with red trimming around the neck.

Britain is sending its biggest-ever team to the Games in London, the first city to host the Olympics on three occasions, with a squad of more than 550 athletes.