I find the effect works best for the blue and not at all for red. I wonder if this could be related to chromostereopsis? It could be causing the red grid to appear superimposed above the grey rather than being filtered through it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromostereopsis

This is complete speculation, but the luminance difference between the red sprites and greyscale shirt is greater than that of the other colors.

Same here. They look completely grey, but the red stripes really stand out.