Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has claimed that he "can't wear his England shirt" after Nike revealed it had altered the St George cross on football shirts using purple and blue horizontal stripes.
The sporting giant called a “playful update” to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024 and said the colours were inspired by the training kit worn by England’s 1966 World Cup winners.
Fans and commentators disagree and have reacted angrily since the release of the kit that England will wear at Euro 2024 this summer branding it ‘woke.’.
MP Lee Anderson told GB News: "When I bang on about, we want our country back. This is exactly the sort of woke, namby-pamby, pearl-clutching, hand-wringing nonsense that I'm talking about.
Lee Anderson slammed the new shirts
GB News
"We've got the England team taking the knee. Then we've got the England captain wearing rainbow armbands. Hypocrites. The lot of them. Now we've got this nonsense. Where does it stop? It's a slippery slope. The FA should hang their heads in shame.
"I'll tell you what they should do they should go into a pub in Ashfield on a Sunday afternoon when the football's on and talk to some real people in the real world. And I'll tell you what. They'll get chased out of town."
GB News host Pip Tomson explained: " Lee, I just want to put to you, the other side to this, which is that Nike says it isn't about being woke. It is a nod to the 1966 World Cup winners."
"What a load of rubbish that is. You know it's a load of rubbish," Lee fumed.
England's new kit has caused controversy with Nike tweaking the colours of the St George's CrossENGLAND/NIKE"Nike once again interfering and I'm not surprised that the FA is accepting this nonsense.
"If the players have got any grit about them, they refuse to wear these shirts. I don't know what's going on in this country, guys. It's happening every single day. They're trying to interfere with our history, our heritage, our culture, our sports.
"I wear my England shirt with pride. I love the flag of Saint George, it's a bit of our identity. We should keep it and I tell you what I wonder how many of the national football team's shirts are interfering with. I bet it's zero.
"Could you imagine Nike giving a so-called playful update to the Palestinian or Chinese shirts?"
Lee Anderson is a member of Reform
Parliament TVThe Football Association referred GB News to the Nike statement when asked for comment.
It read: "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.”