John Kelly, whose brother Michael was among those murdered on Bloody Sunday, branded promo material and photographs purporting to display the sports shoes - which surfaced on the internet in recent days - as "grossly offensive."

A spokesperson for Nike UK said the company was "extremely annoyed" at the claims and acknowledged that the families of those killed in January 30, 1972 would find it "grossly inappropriate."

John Kelly was unequivocal in his condemnation of the material: "I believe it's sickening that anyone would profit from the memories of the dead of Bloody Sunday in this manner. What a way to make money - walking on the dead of Bloody Sunday.

"Even reading the description of the shoes - that the colours black and red represent death and blood - is disgraceful. I hope Nike will try to find out who is behind advertising this merchandise and, perhaps, withdraw their merchandise from these shops."

A spokesperson for Nike UK told 'FN': "I have heard this rumour before and it is not true at all - this is a fabricated rumour.

"We have categorically not named any shoe after Bloody Sunday and we have no product with any link to either the song (by U2] or the tragic incidents it refers to. We are extremely annoyed at this suggestion and would like to set the record straight.

"We don't understand where it came from and we will contact any site or print outlet that publishes it to ensure they know it is not correct. Of course, I can understand how families of Bloody Sunday could find it grossly inappropriate, but this is a rumour that began on various skaters' blog sites and is absolutely not true."