Leeds criticised on social media for new club crest

The Elland Road club said more than 10,000 people were consulted during the process of designing the new crest, which depicts a man giving a salute.

The gesture with the right hand balled into a fist and placed against the heart is known as the "Leeds Salute" and the club said it has been an expression of passion that connects the fans and players on and off the pitch.

"In the past year we have worked very hard as a club to re-engage fans and the wider community across Leeds," Leeds managing director Angus Kinnear said in a statement.

"Once we heard that there was a desire for change to help herald a new era for club, it became of primary importance that the new crest clearly reflected who we are."

However, it has not gone down well with supporters on social media. Twitter user Kirsty Stanley called the new badge "horrendous" and Julie Tremble said it was a "dreadful" redesigning attempt.

Leeds fanzine Square Ball said on Twitter: "A big glossy, exercise in branding done by a consultant in Shoreditch. We need to go for a soya milk latte and a lie down."

Within hours of the new crest being revealed, more than 26,000 supporters had signed an online petition on change.org to have the badge changed.

Meanwhile, the Leeds United Supporters' Trust said they were not consulted by the club during the designing process.

"The Supporters' Trust were not consulted, however we were shown the design on the evening of the 23rd January during the Supporters Advisory Board meeting," the Trust said in a statement (www.leedsunitedtrust.com).

"Due to the number of enquiries the Trust has received and the reaction we have witnessed online, we will be releasing a survey to accurately measure the opinions of our members which we will then pass on to the club."

Leeds, currently 10th in the second-tier Championship, are one of the fallen giants of the English game, and have won the top flight title three times.