‘Leave our flag alone!’: Furious ex-FA boss and England stars round on woke Nike for replacing red and white St George’s flag with a ‘rainbow coloured abomination’ – as David Seaman asks: ‘are they going to change three lions to three cats?’

England fans today vowed to boycott Nike and their hated new £125 shirt after they offended millions by redrawing the St George’s Cross as legends Peter Shilton and David Seaman decried the ‘woke‘ design and declared: ‘Just leave it alone’.

The new kit will be worn by the team at Euro 2024 but the row over changing the traditional red cross threatens to overshadow a tournament Gareth Southgate‘s side are amongst the favourites to win.

England’s most capped men’s player, Peter Shilton, said today: ‘This is wrong on every level. I’m totally against it. Including the price that Nike are going to charge.

‘I don’t agree with it. It’s woke. 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. Like the Three Lions, it’s traditional’.

Nike and the Football Association have failed to adequately explain why the flag is blue and purple rather than red and white – just calling it ‘playful’ and a homage to the 1966 team’s training top. 

Former Football Association boss Adrian Bevington today admitted that he would not have signed off on the shirt and said: ‘It’s our flag. It’s a national identity and I just don’t really think it needs to be changed’.

Former England goalkeeper David Seaman, who played 75 times for his country, said he believed many in his generation of players would have refused to wear it.

He said this morning: ‘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. Leave it alone. I’m sure that if they’d approached the lads and asked them about it, they would have said no. Just leave it alone.’

More than 16,000 people have signed an online petition to scrap the new shirt and start again and an online campaign to boycott Nike is in full swing because critics are fed up with national pride being painted as a negative thing – or even equated with racism.

One critic said on Twitter: ‘DO NOT BUY THIS SHIRT!! ITS AN ABOMINATION TO OUR FLAG. I’m all for inclusiveness. Make the numbers rainbow coloured, doesn’t bother me. But this is our national flag’.

This summer homes and cars all over the country will be proudly flying the St George’s Cross and stadiums and cities in Germany will be a sea of red and white this summer as England battle in the European championships.

But Nike and England’s management have sparked anger and disbelief by signing off on a ‘playful’ redesign and turned the flag light blue and purple. 

Adrian Bevington, the former FA managing director, told talkSPORT that he would not have signed off on the shirt. 

He said: ‘I think it’s an emotive subject and it was always going to cause the conjecture that we’ve got.

‘I always try and see it from all sides, and I understand from Nike’s perspective they’re looking to push all the time and be cutting edge and as modern as they can be to the different markets they serve.

‘But… it’s our flag. When the games take place, particularly during the tournament, you’ll see the stadium absolutely swamped with the cross of St George hanging everywhere.

‘It’s a national identity and I just don’t really think it needs to be changed. And it’s going to upset a lot of people because people do feel passionate about this.’

But he added: ‘It may end up selling more kits for them, who knows, commercially it might drive it with the conjecture it’s created. If I’d been in a position to sign off or not, I wouldn’t have signed off on that personally.’

Nike has come under pressure from England fans who claim its ‘playful’ modification of the St George’s Cross has left it looking more like the ‘gender fluidity flag’ than the national emblem.

The manufacturer has sparked outrage after modifying the English flag from a traditional red cross to one that is light blue and purple on the back of its latest jersey.

The American company claims the change was took cues from the training kit worn by the England team which won the 1966 World Cup and aimed to honour the ‘classic colour regime’.

However, some have heaped scorn over the reasoning, claiming it looks nothing like the training gear worn by Sir Alf Ramsey’s men and demanding the flag is returned back to its original colours.

There have even been calls in some quarters for a boycott, with some remarking on the resemblance between the colours of the changed St George’s Cross and the gender fluidity flag.

Politicians and pundits have got involved in the row, with even Sir Keir Starmer  saying the original colours were ‘unifying’ and questioning why they had been changed.

Despite the backlash Nike is not going to make any changes to the jersey, which is said to have ‘flown off the shelves’ since its release on Monday.

Insiders have acknowledged the use of clumsy language in a Nike tweet which spoke of ‘a playful update’ which ‘appears on the collar to unite and inspire’ – but there are no plans to change it. 

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 shirt also has the full backing of the FA, who are understood to ‘completely stand by it’.

However, fans have vented their fury at the change, with some doubting the reasons given by Nike for the modification.

The 1966 England training kit was blue, with red and white stripes, while the changed flag on the new top has shades of red, blue and even magenta, with no white at all.

Some have branded the move ‘ridiculous’ while others have hit out at the ‘disrespectful’ change.

Posting a picture of the 1966 England training kit, one person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): ‘Doesn’t look the same as 1966 training kit to me?’

Another person added: ‘Looks very similar to a “Gender Fluid Flag” to me! This should only be White and Red.’

Another England fan wrote: ‘It’s disrespectful and creates division, you of all people should have learned from the actions of Budweiser and Doritos with regards to real people’s reactions to companies like you forcing your opinions and morals on the public. Time to boycott Nike!’ 

And one social media user added: ‘Literally isn’t the English flag tho.. don’t care about any of this woke s****.. but If change colours of a flag, it isn’t that countries flag anymore. 

Someone else wrote: ‘Delusional woke nonsense which isn’t needed or wanted! At £124.99 for an Adult version and £119.00 for a Children version, think they can keep there “woke St George”!’

Another said: ‘Since when did Nike have the right to alter our flag? You can’t just ‘playfully update’ a national flag! There would be uproar if they modified the stars and stripes on the United States’ kit. Hopefully zero sales of this shirt until they restore the flag of St George.

‘And now the FA claim the England football shirt flag colours are an homage to the 1966 England training kit. Odd, given that training kit did not use those colours, and had an actual flag of St. George on it. What a PR/marketing mess.’

Sources also told the Daily Telegraph that there was no connection between the new flag colours and the rainbow armband that Harry Kane was banned by Fifa from wearing in support of LGBTQ+ people at the Qatar World Cup last year.

It is thought the flag rejig was the product of a Nike designer which was then signed off by the FA.

While the FA will not disclose which department was involved in the sign-off they too say it is aimed at honouring the ‘classic colour regime of 1966 training gear’ used when England lifted the World Cup 58 years ago, rather than an attempt to diversify the nation’s flag.

The kit was agreed on and entered into the production cycle two years ago. Even if a desire to change the St George’s Cross existed, industry experts say a new kit would take six to nine months to create and distribute.

While a small number could be made for England’s players, such a scenario is highly unlikely given the large volumes of sales already made.

MailOnline has contacted Nike for additional comment. 

The strip, which was launched ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany this summer, promised to ‘celebrate football heroes of the past with a modern twist’. 

But comments from fans on social media have included ‘avoid, too woke, too expensive’; ’embarrassing, disgraceful’; ‘horrendous’ and ‘Nike Football should sack anyone who was complicit with this idea’.

Various politicians have criticised the design, including Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith who told the Daily Express: ‘Maybe somebody in the design department misheard Three Lions and instead went for three lines on a shirt.

‘I’m not sure what this is supposed to be, but it certainly looks nothing like our flag and I’m not sure it needs an ‘update’ either. That said, I doubt they’ll shift many at those sort of prices.’

Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer told The Sun: ‘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.’

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson also spoke to the Express, saying: ‘This virtue-signalling, namby-pamby, pearl-clutching woke nonsense must stop. Any more of this and I’ll be on the first flight to Rwanda.’

And former Ukip leader Nigel Farage told GB News: ‘It bears no relationship to the St George’s Cross whatsoever.

‘If the England football team think that’s acceptable, well, why on earth would you be apologetic about Englishness if you’re going to play for England in the European football finals? I think it’s an absolute joke.’

Among the pundits hitting out at the shirt has been former footballer Chris Sutton, who told Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off: ‘It’s such a load of b*****s though isn’t it? To unite and what? Inspire. To unite and inspire by changing a flag?

He added: ‘It’s not the cross of St George, is it? I do understand that there will be people out there who will say it’s not representative when it’s on an England jersey and shouldn’t represent an England jersey. I do understand that.

‘I’m not gonna get angry about that, but for heaven’s sake, could the FA have not just, you know… explained?

‘Why would you even need to explain the importance of getting the right flag? It isn’t representative of an England jersey. I mean, it’s like, on The Apprentice with Lord Sugar, when they get sent out to do tasks, and it looks like a massive cock-up.

‘I’m not going to get angry about that. It’s a kit design. But I do understand there will be a lot of people around the country who are going to say it doesn’t represent England and shouldn’t represent England. And that’s it.’

Sutton continued: ‘You’ve got to ask yourself why do it? Why expose yourself to all this noise and all this commentary? Why do it? Why not just have a red, if you want to have the Cross of St George on the kit, just have the Cross of St George’.

He also said: ‘It’s just dumb. It’s just so dumb. The whole thing is so dumb. Why would they even think about tampering with things?’

Earlier today, talkSPORT host Simon Jordan similarly questioned the decision by Nike and ripped into the ‘virtue-signalling FA’.

He said: ‘I don’t quite understand why Nike want to have a playful brief on our identity. Is our national identity a joke, is it something we’re ashamed of?

‘I think our national identity is something we should be proud of. I don’t find it offensive, I find it unnecessary. Rather than reclaim it, what we’ll do is put up a meaningless cross that has no value to it and represents nobody.’

Jordan, who is also a Mail Sport columnist, added: ‘No other country would allow this to happen, they wouldn’t allow it to be done on their national shirt.

‘This is the same Nike that couldn’t even be bothered to produce Mary Earps shirts. I don’t think we should be taking lessons from Nike on the values of this country.

‘And the FA are absolutely complicit in this. The FA will have their virtue-signalling fingers all over this’.

Nike unveiled England’s new home and away kits on Monday, ahead of this summer’s Euros in Germany.

The kits – which will also be worn by the Lionesses and England Para teams in 2024 – will cost fans up to £124.99 in adult sizes and £119.99 for children.

The Nike home jersey goes with a classic simple white design with a blue trim, while the kit-makers have gone back with a dark blue for the away strip.

Also among those condemning the change was comedian Jason Manford, who tweeted: ‘Oh dear… this is not gonna go down well. What a weird thing to do though. A US company having a cheeky play with another country’s flag.’

Nike has confirmed it will not alter the jersey, which is said to have ‘flown off the shelves’ since its release on Monday.

Insiders have acknowledged the use of clumsy language in a Nike tweet which spoke of ‘a playful update’ which ‘appears on the collar to unite and inspire’ – but there are no plans to change it.

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.’