Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear pledges further consultation on controversial club crest
Leeds United tonight pledged to listen to the views of their fans over the club's controversial new crest.
United have been hit by a backlash from supporters since the unveiling of the crest at midday, with thousands of names being added to a petition calling for it to be scrapped.
And, speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds managing director Angus Kinnear said it had become apparent that the consultation conducted by the club during the design process “wasn’t extensive enough”.
He said United would now be carrying out further consultation with fans about the crest, which is due to be introduced on the club’s shirts from next season.
WEB POLL: What do you think of the new club badge?
Mr Kinnear told the YEP: “We always knew that the introduction of a crest, particularly one that is so bold and such a break away from the traditional conventions of football club crests, was going to create debate and may be controversial.
“We had confidence in the process we went through to arrive at the design but today we’ve been overwhelmed by the feedback.
“From my perspective it’s exactly why I love working for this club because the passion and enthusiasm and the commitment of the fanbase is quite astounding.
“We put the supporters at the heart of everything we do and we are here to make them proud and so, based on some of the feedback we’ve received, it’s evident that the process wasn’t extensive enough and we need to seek further consultation with our fans as we don’t want to do anything that the majority of the fanbase don’t believe in.
“There are 10 million Leeds fans around the world and we want to represent all of them.
“We must make sure that we listen and represent the fanbase and do things that we believe in and maintain the spirit of togetherness there has been since we joined.
“We certainly wouldn’t do anything to derail that level of unity we’ve created since we became custodians of the club.”
United said yesterday that the redesign was the product of a six-month process that saw them canvassing the views of more than 10,000 people connected with the club.