Wrexham remove jacket from club shop amid criticism of ‘English dragon’
Nation.Cymru staff
Wrexham have removed a jacket from sale after criticism from fans over the use of a historic white ‘English dragon’.
When the club posted an image of the jacket modelled by striker Sam Smith on social media as part of their new season kit launch, there was an immediate backlash from fans.
Many pointed out that in ancient Welsh folklore, the White Dragon is the mythological enemy of the Red Dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) and historically represented the invading Anglo-Saxons.
Supporters questioned how the club could have missed that detail especially as the Red and White Dragon folklore was explained during the last series of Welcome To Wrexham in an episode ironically titled ‘Red Dragons’.
Although the Anthem fan jacket with track bottoms initially appeared for sale on the club’s online shop, it was then removed with a page not found message replacing it.
Nation Cymru emailed the club’s media department to ask if the jacket had been removed following complaints from supporters but didn’t receive a response.
However, a subsequent phone call to the club shop confirmed that the jacket had indeed been pulled from sale both online and in store.
Many supporters expressed their displeasure with the club’s actions swamping social media with comments.
It’s not the first time fans have questioned the club’s merchandising ideas.
Last month pictures taken in the club shop of Wrexham caps for sale with England flags on them were posted to social media much to the bewilderment of many supporters.
It’s safe to say fans would like the club’s designers to do a quick refresh on their Celtic history before committing anymore designs for sale.
On X fans didn’t pull any punches in their views on the newest ‘cultural faux pas’.
Here are a selection of comments (Caution: Strong language warning)
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I’ve seen it used in all kinds of colours over the past few years and black and white is common on Welsh food and drink packaging where red would sometimes clash with branding colours. I think the shape is so distinctive people still know it’s the Welsh dragon. Does England even know about the legend of Dinas Emrys? I doubt it, but if they were to start reclaiming the dragon symbol and start using it then I can see how it would then be a problem. Maybe we should use it in all colours to block that move before hand!
Not everything mythological is ‘folklore’, it’s quite the opposite given it is first attested in a literary work, partly propaganda for the kings of Gwynedd, the Historia Brittonum.