‘I worry about unity’ – Southgate on St George’s flag

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Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate says he is “worried about unity” amid a debate about flying the St George’s flag.

A growing number of St George’s and union jack flags have appeared across England in recent months.

While some people feel the flag-raising is patriotic, others feel it is intimidating.

Southgate, who spent eight years in charge of the Three Lions, stepped down as manager following a Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain.

Though he failed to win silverware with England, he is widely recognised for uniting the country in support of the national side and has now written a book called Dear England: Lessons in Leadership.

On Monday, BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay asked Southgate for his opinion on the flags debate, saying: “Some people are proud of them. Some people are questioning the use of them in certain circumstances. What do you think of that flags debate in the context of what you think about patriotism?”

Southgate replied: “I worry about unity. I’ve seen what we did with the team [England] to unify every community.

    • 30 August
    • 24 August

Former England defender and Salford City co-owner Gary Neville recently criticised the “negative” display of the St George’s flag and said he had ordered the removal of a flag from a building site that he invests in.

Salford City’s League Two fixture against Oldham Athletic was delayed later that week when two pitch invaders attempted to place a St George’s flag inside the centre circle at the Peninsula Stadium.

Far-right group Britain First claimed responsibility for the incident, saying they “teamed up with local Salford patriots” to protest against the “treachery of Gary Neville”.

“At any time in history there will always be some disunity under the surface,” said Southgate.

“Life is economically tough for a lot of people so I understand why people are disaffected.

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Southgate, who was appointed England head coach in November 2016 after an interim spell, earned 57 caps for the Three Lions during his playing career.

The closest the defender came to silverware with the national side as a player was in 1996, when he missed a penalty in a semi-final shootout defeat by Germany at Wembley.

Asked about the importance of failing, Southgate said: “It’s one of the certainties of life that things are going to go wrong for you. What I learned from 1996 is that I failed to execute a skill under pressure and that I needed to be better prepared.

“When I went to bed that night I remember thinking: ‘I don’t know how I’ll ever get over this.’

“The whole country was on this carnival of football in 1996 and heading to the final, and I was responsible for us going out.

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‘I worry about unity’ – Southgate on St George’s flag

Getty Images

Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate says he is “worried about unity” amid a debate about flying the St George’s flag.

A growing number of St George’s and union jack flags have appeared across England in recent months.

While some people feel the flag-raising is patriotic, others feel it is intimidating.

Southgate, who spent eight years in charge of the Three Lions, stepped down as manager following a Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain.

Though he failed to win silverware with England, he is widely recognised for uniting the country in support of the national side and has now written a book called Dear England: Lessons in Leadership.

On Monday, BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay asked Southgate for his opinion on the flags debate, saying: “Some people are proud of them. Some people are questioning the use of them in certain circumstances. What do you think of that flags debate in the context of what you think about patriotism?”

Southgate replied: “I worry about unity. I’ve seen what we did with the team [England] to unify every community.

    • 30 August
    • 24 August

Former England defender and Salford City co-owner Gary Neville recently criticised the “negative” display of the St George’s flag and said he had ordered the removal of a flag from a building site that he invests in.

Salford City’s League Two fixture against Oldham Athletic was delayed later that week when two pitch invaders attempted to place a St George’s flag inside the centre circle at the Peninsula Stadium.

Far-right group Britain First claimed responsibility for the incident, saying they “teamed up with local Salford patriots” to protest against the “treachery of Gary Neville”.

“At any time in history there will always be some disunity under the surface,” said Southgate.

“Life is economically tough for a lot of people so I understand why people are disaffected.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Southgate, who was appointed England head coach in November 2016 after an interim spell, earned 57 caps for the Three Lions during his playing career.

The closest the defender came to silverware with the national side as a player was in 1996, when he missed a penalty in a semi-final shootout defeat by Germany at Wembley.

Asked about the importance of failing, Southgate said: “It’s one of the certainties of life that things are going to go wrong for you. What I learned from 1996 is that I failed to execute a skill under pressure and that I needed to be better prepared.

“When I went to bed that night I remember thinking: ‘I don’t know how I’ll ever get over this.’

“The whole country was on this carnival of football in 1996 and heading to the final, and I was responsible for us going out.

Related topics

  • Football
    • 15 July 2024
    A composite image of Gareth Southgate

More on this story

    • 17 October
    A graphic of Premier League players from every team in the division in 2025-26 season, with the Premier League trophy in front of them.
    • 16 August
    BBC Sport microphone and phone

‘I worry about unity’ – Southgate on St George’s flag

Getty Images

Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate says he is “worried about unity” amid a debate about flying the St George’s flag.

A growing number of St George’s and union jack flags have appeared across England in recent months.

While some people feel the flag-raising is patriotic, others feel it is intimidating.

Southgate, who spent eight years in charge of the Three Lions, stepped down as manager following a Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain.

Though he failed to win silverware with England, he is widely recognised for uniting the country in support of the national side and has now written a book called Dear England: Lessons in Leadership.

On Monday, BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay asked Southgate for his opinion on the flags debate, saying: “Some people are proud of them. Some people are questioning the use of them in certain circumstances. What do you think of that flags debate in the context of what you think about patriotism?”

Southgate replied: “I worry about unity. I’ve seen what we did with the team [England] to unify every community.

    • 30 August
    • 24 August

Former England defender and Salford City co-owner Gary Neville recently criticised the “negative” display of the St George’s flag and said he had ordered the removal of a flag from a building site that he invests in.

Salford City’s League Two fixture against Oldham Athletic was delayed later that week when two pitch invaders attempted to place a St George’s flag inside the centre circle at the Peninsula Stadium.

Far-right group Britain First claimed responsibility for the incident, saying they “teamed up with local Salford patriots” to protest against the “treachery of Gary Neville”.

“At any time in history there will always be some disunity under the surface,” said Southgate.

“Life is economically tough for a lot of people so I understand why people are disaffected.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Southgate, who was appointed England head coach in November 2016 after an interim spell, earned 57 caps for the Three Lions during his playing career.

The closest the defender came to silverware with the national side as a player was in 1996, when he missed a penalty in a semi-final shootout defeat by Germany at Wembley.

Asked about the importance of failing, Southgate said: “It’s one of the certainties of life that things are going to go wrong for you. What I learned from 1996 is that I failed to execute a skill under pressure and that I needed to be better prepared.

“When I went to bed that night I remember thinking: ‘I don’t know how I’ll ever get over this.’

“The whole country was on this carnival of football in 1996 and heading to the final, and I was responsible for us going out.

Related topics

  • Football
    • 15 July 2024
    A composite image of Gareth Southgate

More on this story

    • 17 October
    A graphic of Premier League players from every team in the division in 2025-26 season, with the Premier League trophy in front of them.
    • 16 August
    BBC Sport microphone and phone

‘I worry about unity’ – Southgate on St George’s flag

Images courtesy of Getty

In a debate over the flying of the St. George’s flag, former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate declares he is “worried about unity.”

In recent months, England has seen a rise in the number of St. George’s and Union Jack flags.

Some people find the flag-raising patriotic, but others find it intimidating.

Following a Euro 2024 final defeat defeat by Spain, Southgate left the team and spent eight years in charge.

He is well known for uniting the nation in support of the national side, and he has just published a book called Dear England: Lessons in Leadership.

Jon Kay, a presenter for BBC Breakfast, questioned Southgate on Monday about how he felt about the flag debate, saying, “Some people are proud of them. Some people have questions about how useful they are in particular situations. What do you think of the “patriotism debate” regarding the flags?

Southgate responded, “I worry about unity.” I’ve seen how the team [England] worked together to bring every community together.

    • August 30
    • August 24
Gary Neville, a former England defender and co-owner of Salford City, recently criticised the “negative” display of the St George’s flag and claimed he had ordered the flag’s removal from a building site he invests in.

Later that week, two pitch invaders attempted to place a St George’s flag inside the Peninsula Stadium’s center circle, which was delayed until Salford City’s League Two game against Oldham Athletic.

The incident was blamed on Britain First, a far-right organization, for which they “teamed up with local Salford patriots” to protest Gary Neville’s “tidy behavior.”

There will always be some unrest beneath the surface, said Southgate.

I understand why some people are unhappy because “life is very difficult for many people economically.”

JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.

Southgate, who took over as England’s head coach in November 2016 after a brief spell, won 57 caps for the Three Lions.

The defender missed a penalty in the semi-final shootout defeat by Germany at Wembley in 1996, which was the closest the defender’s career to silverware with the national side.

When asked about the value of failing, Southgate responded, “One of the certainties of life is that things will always turn out the other way.” I learned from 1996 that I had to be better prepared and that I had to perform a skill under great pressure.

I remember saying, “I don’t know how I’ll ever get over this when I went to bed that night.”

“I was in charge of getting the team to the final because the entire nation was playing football at this carnival in 1996.”

related subjects

  • Football
    • 15 July 2024
    A composite image of Gareth Southgate

More on this story.

    • 17 October
    A graphic of Premier League players from every team in the division in 2025-26 season, with the Premier League trophy in front of them.
    • August 16
    BBC Sport microphone and phone