Gareth Southgate Wades Into St George's Flag Row After Gary Neville Controversy

Former England head coach Sir Gareth Southgate gave an interesting response when asked for his opinion on the recent British/England flag debate.

Southgate, 55, appeared on BBC Breakfast on Monday (November 3), having been without a managerial role since stepping down as England head coach following the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain in Berlin, Germany.

The 55-year-old had been linked with potentially replacing Ruben Amorim at Manchester United earlier this season, but the Portuguese remains Red Devils boss with the side currently enjoying improved form.

In his 16-month hiatus, the former Middlesbrough head coach has been writing a book as well as delivering several coaching seminars.

When asked about a potential return to Premier League management during a chat on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the former defender expressed how he feels it would be hard to “replicate” being England head coach in another role as the Three Lions job served “a higher purpose”.

Gareth Southgate has been without a managerial role for 16 months (Image: Getty)

And it’s fair to say Southgate, who was knighted in June for his services to football, is a proud Englishman, having also played for his country 57 times as well as coaching the Three Lions.

Another proud Englishman is Southgate’s former England teammate, Gary Neville, who recently spoke out against “middle-aged white men” using both the Union Jack and St George’s cross in a negative fashion.

In October, the former Manchester United right-back took to LinkedIn, explaining how he noticed that several flags were “being used in a negative fashion” and had been put in the Greater Manchester area, including on one of his development sites.

Neville said: "I've been building in this city for 15-20 years and nobody's put a flag up, so why do you need to put one up now? Quite clearly, it's sending a message to everybody that there's something you don't like.”

Since then, Salford’s League Two fixture against Oldham was briefly paused after a group ran onto the pitch at the Peninsula Stadium wearing “Gary Neville is a traitor” hoodies while waving England flags.

There has been an increase in St George's flags flying in UK streets (Credit:Getty)

Right-wing political party Britain First posted a video claiming responsibility for the protest shortly after the incident.

So, what does Southgate make of the recent increase in the use of the flags?

Well, he was asked for his opinion on the flag debate by the BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay on Monday, to which he replied: “I worry about unity. I've seen what we did with the team [England] to unify every community.

"I do think there's more that bonds us all than separates us. We should try and focus more on what brings us together than what separates us."