Puma blames Switzerland shirt rippings on defective material batch

Football kit manufacturer Puma has explained why several of its shirts worn by Switzerland players ripped so easily in their Euro 2016 game against France.

During Sunday's goalless draw against the hosts in Lille, the Puma-branded shirts of four Swiss players were torn when pulled by opponents, forcing members of the team to swap tops three times in the first half.

In a statement, the Germany-based manufacturer said that analysis of the jerseys showed there was one batch of material whose yarns had been damaged during production, making the garment weaker.

"Puma has checked the inventory of all jerseys of all Puma teams and can assure that such an unfortunate incident does not happen again," it continued in the statement on its website.

Alongside Switzerland, Puma also provides the kits for Austria, Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia.