Nike’s recent multicoloured St George’s Cross flag has been met with anger, with critics including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
The sports brand called the modified cross for England’s recent £125 European Champions kit a “playful update” however it has been accused of wokery and told to depart the English flag alone.
The English flag comprises a red cross of St George but Nike’s redesigned version is made up of red, purple and blue horizontal stripes.
Sir Keir told The Sun’s YouTube Channel that the change to the design was “flawed”.
“I’m an enormous football fan, I’m going to England games, men and girls’s games, and the flag is utilized by everybody. It is a unifier. It doesn’t must be modified. We just must be pleased with it.
“So, I feel they need to just reconsider this and alter it back. I’m not even sure they’ll properly explain why they thought they needed to vary it in the primary place.”
Former England goalkeeper David Seaman told the Daily Mail, “It doesn’t need fixing. What’s next, are they going to vary the Three Lions to a few cats? Leave it alone.
On the suggestion of the shirt being boycotted, he said: “I had that situation after I saw my red kit that I wore for Euro 96. I used to be like, have I got to wear that?
“But it’s different. It’s the St George’s Flag. Leave it alone. I’m sure that in the event that they’d approached the lads and asked them about it, they’d have said no. Just leave it alone.”
A petition launched on Change.org has been signed over 17,000 times.
Former FA managing director Adrian Bevington, told talkSPORT that the cross mustn’t have been modified.
“I feel it’s an emotive subject and it was at all times going to cause the conjecture that we have,” he said.
“I at all times try to see it from all sides, and I understand from Nike’s perspective they’re seeking to push on a regular basis and be leading edge and as modern as they may be to the various markets they serve.
“But… it’s our flag. When the games happen, particularly in the course of the tournament, you will see the stadium absolutely swamped with the cross of St George hanging in every single place.
“It’s a national identity and I just don’t really think it must be modified. And it is going to upset a whole lot of people because people do feel captivated with this.”
