In defence of England fans sporting the cross of St George

You don’t have to be a Premier League season ticket holder to know that the World Cup begins in Brazil in a little over three weeks’ time. My local supermarket already has shelves stacked high with T-shirts, sticker albums, barbecue sets, discount wide-screen TVs and just about every conceivable England-branded product from lunch boxes to duvet covers. Many of these items feature the cross of St George at the heart of their design.

It is a simple red-centred cross emblazoned on a white background which, it is believed, has stood as the emblem of England since the late 13th century. And yet, in some people’s opinion, it is as if the shops are peddling the symbol of apartheid era South Africa to impressionable primary school kids. An article in the Telegraph entitled “Supporting England at the World Cup is like voting Ukip”, associates the St George’s cross with “poverty, sink estates, skinheads and bulldogs” and suggests that the very sight of it will transform us into a nation of lager-swilling, xenophobic hooligans at the first light gust of wind.

When other nations’ supporters wave their flags it is described as exuberant and colourful. Only in England is similar behaviour seen as negative, shameful even.

The piece goes on to quote Dr Elizabeth Major of York University’s Department of English, who tells us that supporting England promotes “unthinking brutish nationalism that attacks all other nations as other and inferior, and licenses crowd behaviour that individuals would be unlikely to indulge in alone.” Even if this ludicrous generalisation were true, it could equally be applied to all of the 31 other competing World Cup nations.

Now I don’t know if Ms Major is a regular at Bootham Crescent, but I have watched football in more than 40 countries and have never been moved to describe, say, Argentinian, Dutch or Ghanaian fans as dispassionate and impartial. When they wave their flags and paint their faces it is described as exuberant and colourful. Only in England is similar behaviour seen as negative and jingoistic, shameful even.

I should declare here that I am a white, middle class England football fan. I am not a Ukip supporter.

I am very proud to live in a truly multi-ethnic society in which both Mo Farah and Sir Bradley Wiggins are national icons. A country in which, unlike many in the world, the likes of Nigel Farage have more chance of winning the Olympic 3,000 metres steeplechase final than a general election. But I am heartily sick of being told that the flag of my country is a symbol of hatred, repression or inequality.

Those who believe that are playing into the hands of the minority of racist idiots who conjoin themselves to the flag in an attempt to subvert its true symbolism. The naysayers are allowing it to be hijacked by people whose purported love of the country is actually the exact opposite; morons who despoil democracy, freedom and tolerance. Why on earth should the flag belong to them?

I am heartily sick of being told that the flag of my country is a symbol of hatred, repression or inequality.

Like it or not, the cross of St George will be carried out into stadiums during the World Cup ahead of the England team, it will fly from every venue as a symbol of our participation in the tournament and will feature in a myriad of different official Fifa representations. It will not be seen by those outside our country as anything other than a straightforward national emblem and I have never met a England footballer from an ethnic background who is uncomfortable with it.

Let us join the Scandinavian students proudly displaying their flags on backpacks during gap years, the ethnic Americans waving the stars & stripes at baseball matches and the Japanese with their rising sun headbands. Contrary to what some might have you believe England is not a nation of bigots, it is a nation with a long, proud and ever-evolving cultural identity. Millions of us from all backgrounds will be cheering on the national team during the World Cup and should have no shame in using the national symbol to represent their support. So fix it to your white van, hang it from your window and, stencil it on to your children’s faces with impunity. Reclaim it as a symbol for all that’s good about this country from the hands of those who try and use it as a tool to divide us, and the fools who believe they could.

John Anderson will commentating on World Cup matches for talkSPORT. You can follow him on Twitter @GreatFaceRadio.