England fans have reacted angrily after the players took to the field against Brazil at Wembley with their collars down, showing off the controversial new flag design on their Nike kit. The decision to tinker with the St George's Cross was met with widespread condemnation this week, and led to calls for the team to wear their collars up on Saturday night in protest.
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However, the players instead all walked out at the national stadium with their collars down, much to the disdain of supporters. Manufacturer Nike opted for a horizontal bar and a combination of blues and purples rather than the red of the original flag, with the symbol clearly visible on the collars.
One fan wrote on X: "There was some pressure online for England players to 'turn their collars up' tonight. How do we all think that's going so far?"
Another accused the players of being 'cowards' for not making the protest, whole one user suggested the authorities had ordered the team to wear collars down. "Why haven’t they all got collars up? Bet they’ve been told they can’t," they added.
Many cited Liverpool star Harvey Elliott, who appeared to deliberately wear his collar up for England Under-21s in the 5-1 win over Azerbaijan on Friday. One fan posted a picture of the forward, writing "All of the england squad should wear the new kit with collars up. True unity of our country."
The controversy has already seen politicians weigh-in this week, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling the flag a "source of pride" which "we shouldn't mess with." Labour leader Keir Starmer argued the St George's Cross was a unifying symbol that doesn't need changing.
The FA however, moved to defend the kit, and the £400million deal with manufacturing giants Nike. On the eve of the game, they released a statement that read:"We are very proud of the red and white St George's cross - the England flag.
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"We understand what it means to our fans, and how it unites and inspires. And it will be displayed prominently at Wembley tomorrow - as it always is - when England play Brazil."
There seemed little by way of reaction from fans inside Wembley, with no jeers apparent as the side walked out at the national stadium. The 90,000 seater stadium was sold out ahead of the friendly international clash.
