Colombian club forced to buy counterfeit shirts after forgetting away kit

Independiente Santa Fe traveled safely for a Colombian Primera A match against Boyaca Chico, but the team's away kit did not. When Millwall had a similar mix-up in August, Sheffield Wednesday kindly provided their strip from last season so the match could go ahead. Boyaca Chico decided against being as accommodating to Santa Fe, however, forcing more creative work arounds that involved buying counterfeit versions of the club's shirt from a street vendor.

Santa Fe could have played in their red home shirts, which somehow did make the trip, but Boyaca refused to wear their away kit to avoid matching. So the Santa Fe players began the match in their grey training tops with white tape used for the numbers on the back. The tape was no match for the combination of sweat and humidity though, causing them to peel off before halftime.

That forced Santa Fe to Plan D: sending a staffer onto the streets of Tunja, Colombia to buy counterfeit versions of the club's Umbro away shirt for 12,000 pesos ($6.37) apiece and then draw numbers on the back with a red marker. Upon the completion of this scavenger hunt and crafts project, Santa Fe went out for the second half dressed as cheap knockoff versions of themselves. To pay back Boyaca for all the hassle, they went on to win 2-0.

From Reuters:

Santa Fe president Cesar Augusto Pastrana apologized to official kitmaker Umbro and the club's sponsors for the blasphemous act they were forced to commit, but all parties were understanding of the situation. Perhaps next time Chico Boyaca will be a little more hospitable to avoid the karmic payback they received.

- - - - - - -

Brooks Peck

is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!

Follow @BrooksDT