JOE COLE has hit out at the FA over the England kit fiasco.
Manufacturer Nike and the FA have come under fire for changes made to the St. George’s flag.
Instead of the traditional red Nike created a design with two shades of blue and purple as the horizontal line.
Fans and some pundits have reacted with fury, but the FA have stated the kit will not be recalled.
Former England player Cole, while working on Channel 4’s coverage of the Three Lions’ clash with Brazil, criticised the FA for incompetence over the flag and slammed the inflated price of the shirts – which cost up to an eye-watering £125.
He said: “From a footballing perspective, it’s the last thing that Gareth will want to deal with. I thought he dealt with it unbelievably well.
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“He talked about the fact we had St George’s flags on the kit before and we haven’t. We’ve always had the Three Lions because that’s what the England football team represents.
“I think what’s happened here is some people at Nike have tried to make something artistic connected to it. Someone at the FA… I think a bit of incompetence has come in because you want a lovely kit that’s at a reasonable price. The kit is overpriced at the moment, in my opinion.
“Somebody at the FA should have gone, “You know what, that could be perceived as this. Gareth doesn’t need it. The lads don’t need it. Let’s just concentrate on the football”. That hasn’t happened. It’s not a big deal in the scheme of things.”
England boss Gareth Southgate had his say on the controversy, suggesting it is not the St. George’s flag.
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He said: “If it’s not white with a red cross, it’s not the St George’s flag.
“I am a huge patriot. I believe we should celebrate St George’s Day more than we do.
“People don’t think we should change the flag of St George.
“If it’s changed then it isn’t the flag of St George. So I’m a little bit lost with that element of it.
“I think they can put a quirky design together but you can’t say it’s the flag of St George because it isn’t. It’s therefore something else.”
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Kealan Hughes
