Barrow FC have made a major alteration to their club crest after a group of England fans were not allowed to take a flag into the Three Lions' World Cup opener against Croatia. Thomas Tuchel's side ran out 4-2 winners at the Dallas Stadium on Wednesday, thanks to a Harry Kane brace and goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford.
While large portions of the ground in Arlington, Texas, were adorned with St George's Cross flags in national pride, one pack of Barrow fans weren't allowed to take theirs in with them through a strict FIFA ruling. The National League side's crest contains a submarine in tribute to its rich history constructing the vessels.
FIFA rules stipulate that military items cannot be displayed on flags at matches, with submarines falling under said bracket. As a result of having the Barrow badge on the England flag in a nod to their home town, the fans were denied entry with the display.
Barrow's Comical Response
In response to the bizarre happening, Barrow have taken extreme measures to prevent a similar occurrence taking place again during the 2026 World Cup by blurring the submarine on their official crest in comical fashion. Sharing an updated image of their badge, they wrote: 'In order to make sure our supporter John Little can represent the Bluebirds over in Boston properly, we'd like to unveil our new *temporary club badge for the duration of the World Cup...'
For those unfamiliar, the Barrow badge also contains a red rose, a football and a bee with an arrow going through it. Leaving no stone unturned, Barrow also asked FIFA if the arrow had to go too, technically being a weapon.
They added: '@FIFAcom let us know if the Arrow has to go too...' in comical fashion. When one fan removed the submarine, bee and arrow from the badge asking: 'Maybe this should work, although the bee had to go too,' Barrow replied in jest: 'Hayfever is a silent killer, we might have the lose the Rose.'
Fan's Reaction
The fan in question also spoke to the BBC about the banned flag, explaining how baffled he was by matters. He said: 'I couldn't believe it really, it's a little bit harsh that they've done it for something like that. 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.'
FIFA also told the fan group that they are welcome to cover the submarine and submit another application to have the flag allowed into the ground for England's clash with Ghana on Tuesday, June 23, something which Little said that they would attempt to do.
