The current kit has grown on me. The trims in “teal” - I’ve been calling it “Saudi 81” in remembrance of THAT win in teal/German green…
Milts, if anyone has this, you do; I've only ever seen the shirt as peppermint green. Is there a colour photo of the shirt, as it is meant to be?
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=643886607742099&set=pb.100063622954695.-2207520000&type=3
It was almost like training kit, but they wore it away in Fiji (when Fiji wore white) and then in Saudi again.
This pic is from the official anthem video, starring Ray Woolf :)
Ray Woolf - Mr Bic Lighters, himself.
It's amazing that the colour looks so different - so I'm assuming the shorts were a dark blue? (as they are dark green)
I should have paid more attention in Science, but asked ChatGPT;
1. The Role of Sunlight and Atmosphere
- Sunlight is not just white light—it contains different wavelengths of light, and how they scatter affects color perception.
- In bright, direct sunlight (like in Riyadh), shorter wavelengths (blue light) are scattered more than longer wavelengths (red and green).
- This is why the sky appears blue—because blue light is scattered in all directions.
- However, in certain conditions, blue light can mix with reflected green light from the environment (grass, sand, etc.), making things appear more greenish.
2. How Light Interacts with the Sky-Blue Kit
- A sky-blue jersey reflects mostly blue wavelengths, but under strong yellowish sunlight, the color can shift.
- Yellow light (from the sun) + blue fabric = greenish tint (since blue + yellow makes green in additive color mixing).
- The human eye and cameras may perceive blue fabric under yellowish light as greenish.
3. How Video Cameras Misinterpret Colors
- Older cameras use RGB (red, green, blue) sensors, but in harsh sunlight, they can overcompensate by boosting red and green while toning down blue.
- If the camera overcorrects for the blue light, it may render blue objects as slightly greenish.
- This is called color shift and was a common issue in analog TV broadcasts, especially before auto white balance technology was perfected.
4. The Dust and Heat Factor
- The match was played in Riyadh, where the air likely contained dust particles.
- Dust can scatter blue light even more aggressively, further altering the way it appears on camera.
- Combined with the bright desert sun, this could have created a situation where the blue jerseys looked more greenish than usual.
5. Human Vision vs. Camera Vision
- Our eyes naturally adjust to different lighting conditions better than cameras.
- Cameras from the 1980s had fixed settings that couldn't adapt as well, leading to inaccurate color reproduction.
- What looked sky blue in real life may have appeared teal or green on video because of these technical limitations.
Conclusion
The combination of sunlight, atmospheric effects, and old camera technology likely caused the sky-blue kit to appear greenish in footage from the 5-0 win against Saudi Arabia.