Millwall fumes after anti-racism booklet shows its badge on a Ku Klux Klan robe
LONDON (AP) — An English soccer team's attempts to shake off its rowdy reputation have been damaged by, of all things, a children's anti-racism booklet. Millwall was blindsided by the educational pamphlet that featured the southeast London club’s badge edited onto an illustration of a Ku Klux Klan robe. The Westminster City Council has since apologized.
A British lawmaker told The Associated Press that the misuse of Millwall branding is an “insult,” and the team’s leading fan group said it was “outraged” at the portrayal. The second-division club said it is considering legal action because the imagery creates “a false and damaging image of the club. ” The incident comes at a time when Millwall has a strong chance to secure a first ever promotion to the Premier League .
The team was last in the top flight in the 1989-90 season. Millwall’s image The checkered reputation of fan behavior dates to the days of England’s worst episodes of hooliganism in the 1970s and 80s. Hardcore Millwall fans proudly chanted, “No one likes us, we don’t care.
” But the club has worked to change its perception. The anti-discrimination body it created in 1994 was “the first organization of its kind at an English football club. ” Millwall also boasts of its working relationship with anti-discrimination organizations Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card.
Despite the initiatives, Millwall has suffered dings to its image. Millwall fans turned on each other — and police — during the 2013 FA Cup semifinal against Wigan at Wembley Stadium. A few days after players were booed for taking a knee before kickoff at a December 2020 game, fans entering The Den received a printed statement that read: “The eyes of the world are on this football club tonight — your club — and they want us to fail.
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