England Fans' Submarine Flag Rejected by FIFA at World Cup

The World Cup is built on colour, noise and flags. Yet a small group of England supporters have discovered there are limits to what you can stitch onto a St George’s Cross.

A contingent of Barrow fans, planning to follow England at the tournament, were told they cannot display their flag because it features a submarine.

The design is simple enough: a St George’s Cross, the badge of Barrow AFC and, alongside it, a silhouette of a submarine – a nod to the Cumbrian town’s long association with shipbuilding and naval vessels. Local pride, not provocation.

But when the group submitted the flag for approval, as all fans must do if they want to hang banners inside World Cup stadiums, the answer came back from Fifa: rejected.

The ruling? No “imagery of weapons or military”.

Fan John Little, part of the travelling group and one of those behind the flag, did not hide his frustration. He called the decision “harsh” and, with a pointed touch of humour, added: “It’s not like you can go down to the local Walmart and buy a submarine is it.”

Little is heading to Boston for England’s match against Ghana on Tuesday and had expected the Barrow flag to be part of the backdrop. Instead, he is wrestling with a policy that treats a town’s emblem as a banned symbol.

“I couldn’t believe it really, it’s a little bit harsh that they’ve done it for something like that,” he said. “I could understand like guns and knives and what have you, but not a submarine.

“People are just saying how ridiculous it is that they’re not allowing the flag.”

The decision came in writing. In a response seen by the BBC, Fifa told the group: “The application was rejected because the item includes imagery of weapons or military (submarine). These are not permitted under FIFA policy. We would be happy to approve, if you were willing and able to submit again with the imagery covered up.”

So the fans now face a choice: alter the flag or leave it at home.

Fifa has invited them to resubmit the banner with the submarine covered, and Little says they will try to do exactly that. The plan, for now, is to improvise a fix that keeps Barrow’s identity alive without falling foul of the regulations.

On the pitch, England’s focus will be Ghana and the next step in their World Cup journey. In the stands, one small corner of support is fighting a quieter battle – to keep a submarine afloat in a sea of red and white.