ENGLAND fans have threatened to boycott the latest Three Lions shirt after a “woke cross” replaced the St George’s flag.
The Three Lions’ strips were unveiled on Monday with the traditional red cross altered to one with navy, light blue and purple.
It is thought to be a nod to the 1966 World Cup winners’ training kit – which contained blue, red and purple.
But the change led to some labelling the shirt “woke” as they called on the manufacturer to revert back to the traditional colours.
Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer slammed the FA and Nike for changing the “unifying” St George’s flag on footy shirts and ripping off fans on prices.
The Labour leader made the bold claims on the Sun’s brilliant new politics show Never Mind the Ballots.
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He said: “We just need to be proud of it. So I think they should just reconsider this and change it back.”
PM Rishi Sunak also blasted the change, saying St George’s Cross “should not be messed with”.
And many fans have slammed the new strip online ahead of Euro 2024 this summer.
One wrote: “Oh dear…this is not gonna go down well! what a weird thing to do.”
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Another added: “No England fan should buy this shirt. I certainly would never buy this woke rubbish.”
A third said: “Disgraceful. The St George’s Cross is the sacred icon of the English nation & people.
“Why have we allowed Nike, a US brand that produces these shirts with sweatshop labour, to defile our national flag?”
A disgruntled fourth person wrote: “It’s a woke decision and one we must boycott and protest about!”
Nike are said to be receiving support from the FA who “completely stand by” the slight tweak.
It is understood the flag alteration was the work of a Nike designer, but was also signed off by the FA.
Colin Robertson says… shame on them
BY Colin Robertson
So that’s it then?
We’re now supposed to be ashamed of our national flag for the one event pretty much everyone could agree on its use?
American firm Nike’s decision to respin our simple flag on the new England kit into some sort of patriotically fluid symbol is the epitome of culture war vandalism.
Tradition and history don’t play well for greedy corporate firms.
They like meaningless b*****ks that “represents everyone” and offends no-one.
Some millennial wazzock with a PhD in Wokeism will have doubtless pointed out five reasons why the St George’s Cross is just a vulgar symbol of oppression.
Far better to slowly eradicate it and create something new and meaningless and then pretend it’s progress.
And hey, their corporate customers, usually paranoid of giving offence, will thank them for it.
Just like the FA, stuck in its own woke groove, has done. Shame on them. Because the idea that this bastardisation is, as Nike has claimed, just a “playful update to the flag of St George…to unite and inspire” is utter cobblers and borderline offensive.
What is more uniting than following the national football team while proudly wearing the flag of your country?
We don’t want or need a new flag, playful or otherwise, to represent England. We have one already St George’s Cross?
He’d be f***ing furious.
And the FA insist the decision was made to “honour the classic colour regime of 1966 training gear”.
Nike will not succumb to pressure from some England fans, according to The Mail.
A Nike spokesperson said: “The England 2024 Home kit disrupts history with a modern take on a classic.
“The trim on the cuffs takes its cues from the training gear worn by England’s 1966 heroes, with a gradient of blues and reds topped with purple.
“The same colours also feature an interpretation of the flag of St. George on the back of the collar.”
The only concession from the American brand was that a tweet describing it as a “playful update” which “appears on the collar to unite and inspire” was “clumsy language”.
Starmer slams new England footie strip
Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer blasted the FA and Nike for changing the “unifying” St George’s flag on footy shirts.
Sir Keir said the St George’s flag “something to be proud of”.
Speaking on Never Mind the Ballots the Labour leader said: “Yeah it was. I’m a big football fan, I go to England games, men, women’s games.
“And the flag is used by everybody, it’s unifying, it doesn’t need to change.
“We just need to be proud of it. So I think they should just reconsider this and change it back.”
And he also added that the shirts – which are retailing at £124.99 for adults and a whopping £119.99 for children – should have their prices reduced.
The Labour leader continued: “I’m not even sure they can properly explain why they thought they needed to change in the first place.
“They could also reduce the price of the shirts.”
A string of football legends have since joined the chorus of criticism, with ex-England keeper Peter Shilton saying he’s “totally against” it and Harry Redknapp branding it the “worst own goal ever”.
Meanwhile TalkSPORT host Simon Jordan said: “I don’t quite understand why Nike want to have a playful brief on our identity.
“Rather than reclaim it, what we’ll do is put up a meaningless cross that has no value to it and represents nobody.
“No other country would allow this to happen, they wouldn’t allow it to be done on their national shirt.”
The design was rubber-stamped and entered into the production cycle two years ago.
Even if there was a desire to change it, industry experts say a new kit would take six to nine months to create and distribute.
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While a small number of new shirts could be made for England’s players, that scenario is unlikely given the large volume of kit sales already.
The Sun have contacted the FA and Nike for comment.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
