Supermarket Asda has defended a "wearable England flag" it has launched for the World Cup after claims it resembles a Ku Klux Klan outfit. The #3 St George's Cross, with the word "England" on the red cross, features a hood which Asda said was to allow fans to wear it and stay dry in the unpredictable British weather.
But some fans took to Twitter to point out what they believes were similarities with the hoods worn by the racist US organisation, also known by its initials “KKK”.
One user called Kieran posted a picture of himself at his KieranCPhoto account, writing: “Asda are selling wearable England flags, they look dodgy to say the least...”
Another user called Simon replied on his HungryHatter account: “‘ENGLAND RULES OKKK’ Honestly, do Asda simply not bother to see how these things look when worn? *sigh*”
The flag’s description on the Asda website simply says: “Support England in the world cup with this unique wearing flag!” A company spokeswoman said it had also produced a wearable Brazilian flag ahead of the competition, with starts in the South American country on June 12th.
She added: “We know there’s chatter on Twitter about our wearable World Cup flags, but it’s simply a flag with a hood — nothing more, nothing less. “We opted for a hood on our wearable England and Brazilian flags as you never know what the British weather will bring. “We want customers to get behind the team without getting wet.”
