On March 18, 2024, the England soccer team unveiled its new home and away jerseys to be worn in the summer's 2024 UEFA European Football Championship.
Designed by Nike, the home shirt is a classic white with blue and red detailing, while the away shirt is purple, in a first for the English national team. Both are to be worn by the men's, women's and para teams throughout the year.
However, a minor detail on the home jersey sparked fury in some corners of the English media and soccer landscape — the small St. George's Cross on the back collar.
Traditionally, the symbol was depicted by a red cross on a white background. However, Nike's design featured a mixture of dark blue, light blue and purple on the horizontal band of the cross.
The tweak caused outrage online, with some fans demanding the jersey be scrapped due to the additional colors partially resembling the bisexual pride flag.
The Conservative U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the opposition Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer both criticized the change.
One sitting Member of Parliament (MP) branded it "wokeness gone mad," while the former leader of the far-right British Nationalist Party (BNP) said the change was part of a "cultural Marxist drive" to corrupt children, make people infertile, and encourage rebellion against God.
However, when releasing the jersey on March 18, Nike simply described the design change as "a playful update" to the flag.
Responding to criticism, a March 22 statement from Nike said "it was never our attention to offend" people with the design. Rather, the company wanted "to celebrate the heroes of 1966 [England's World Cup winning team] and their achievements" by paying homage to the 1966 team's training kit.
Nike's statement in full:
"We have been a proud partner of the F.A. [English Football Association] since 2012 and understand the significance and importance of the St. George's Cross and it was never our intention to offend, given what it means to England fans.
Together with the F.A., the intention was to celebrate the heroes of 1966 and their achievements. 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 on the back of the collar."
Likewise, the F.A. defended the change, saying "it is not the first time" different colors have been used.
In 2010, Umbro produced a home England jersey bearing numerous small crosses in a range of colors. British designer Peter Saville, who worked with Umbro in designing the shirt, once stated he wanted to "take the cross of St George and make it in a multitude of colours."
"I wanted it to be something that a diverse cross-section of people could identify with," Saville said.
In a 2010 interview, he said the different colors of the flag were "much more representative of how we understand England, the U.K., today."
The flag has been adapted on numerous occasions for past kits, British newspaper the i reported (archived here). In some cases the shape of the cross was changed, and in others the colors were completely overhauled, more so than on the latest jersey.
There were no plans to withdraw the kit at the time of this writing, according to reports.