Picture: Nike
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stepped into the row over England’s new football kit.
The PM has accused the FA and Nike of “toying” with England’s heritage.
Kit maker Nike has changed England’s distinguished St George’s red cross for a multi-coloured emblem.
Mr Sunak said:
“I prefer the original.
“When it comes to our national flags, we shouldn’t mess with them because they’re a source of pride, identity, who we are, and they’re perfect as they are.”
Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, said the FA and Nike had failed to put fans first.
She posted on X, formerly Twitter:
“Fans should always come first, and it’s clear that this is not what fans want.
“Our national heritage – including St George’s Cross – brings us together.
“Toying with it is pointless and unnecessary.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said:
“The flag is used by everybody, it is a unifier, it doesn’t need to be changed.
“We just need to be proud of it.
“So, I think they should just reconsider this and change it back.
“I’m not even sure they properly can explain why they thought they needed to change in the first place.”
The kit is for England in this summer’s European Championships.
Former England and Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman told the MailOnline:
“It doesn’t need fixing.
“What’s next?
“Are they going to change the Three Lions to three cats?
“Leave it alone. It’s the St George’s Flag.
“I’m sure that if they’d approached the lads [players] and asked them about it, they would have said no. “
Peter Shilton – an England keeper who played 125 times for his country, – said:
“If you’re going to put the St George’s Cross on a kit, which obviously Nike have done, then just put it on with the traditional colours.
“The colour is a little bit woke, I think.
“I just think the colours for England, like the Three Lions, are traditional.
“I don’t agree with it.
“Red, white, and blue are the colours that we have on our flag.
“Once you start trying to change colours, there’s no end to it.”
Adrian Bevington, the former managing director of Club England at the Football Association, told talkSPORT he would not have “signed off” on the shirt.
He said “It’s our flag.
“It’s a national identity and I just don’t really think it needs to be changed.”
