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 usual 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.”
Many fans 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.”
Posting on Twitter, formerly X, one poster added: “No England fan should buy this shirt. I certainly would never buy this woke rubbish.”
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While a another X user 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 user 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.
And the FA insist the decision was made to “honour the classic colour regime of 1966 training gear”.
But according to The Mail, Nike will not succumb to pressure from some England fans.
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.”
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.
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Ethan Singh
