(VitalNews.org) – The new England men’s soccer shirt has caused a huge stir among fans of the team after Nike changed the color of the St. George’s Cross.
The original cross on the shirt was red and white but Nike’s change in color has even made the prime minister speak out; over twenty thousand people have signed a petition to change the color scheme.
Nike decided to change the red and white stripes to blue and purple stripes, and it will be released and modeled by England captain Harry Kane before the European Championship in Germany. Nike said that it was a “playful update” to the cross and that it was a play on what they wore during the 1966 championship game, which was the only major championship won by the men’s soccer team.
Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his distaste for the new colors, saying, “I prefer the original and my general view is that when it comes to our national flags, we shouldn’t mess with them because they are a source of pride, identity, who we are and they’re perfect as they are.”
England coach Gareth Southgate chimed in as well, sharing Sunak’s sentiment and saying, “What you are really asking is should we be tampering with the cross of St. George? In my head, if it is not a red cross and a white background, then it isn’t a cross of St. George anyway.”
Despite the backlash on the colors, Nike and the English Football Association have said that they will not be changing it back. The Football Association said that this isn’t the first time that the design has been changed on the cross and that they are proud of the traditional cross.
With this being said, some people are even more blown away at the cost which for an adult shirt would be 125 pounds ($155) and 120 pounds for a child’s shirt.
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