Millwall Demand Answers After Club Crest Appears on KKK Figure in Council Booklet

Millwall have hit out at Westminster Council following a deeply offensive misuse of their club crest in an educational publication aimed at schoolchildren.

The Lions' badge appeared on an illustration of a white supremacist in 'The Paul Canoville Story', a booklet penned by Westminster County Council's education and interpretation officer Peter Daniel. The material was designed to promote anti-racism awareness in schools.

The image in question sits on page 20, depicting a KKK member wearing the Millwall crest on their white tunic. Alongside it is a picture of Canoville, Chelsea's pioneering first black player who arrived at Stamford Bridge in 1982, complete with a speech bubble recounting his experience of racist abuse during a reserve fixture at Millwall. The quote references his 1984 second Division Champions medal, which he said proved to his abusers what he had achieved.

Canoville's career was marred by sustained racist treatment, including from supporters of his own club, making his story a central pillar of Westminster Council's anti-racism initiative.

The incident has left Millwall seething, particularly given the club's considerable efforts to rehabilitate its image from the troubled 1970s and 80s. The south London outfit has received numerous accolades for its transformation work in recent years, including the Community Project of the Year award at the London Football Awards, recognising their initiatives providing young people with careers guidance, employability training and employment opportunities.

A Millwall spokesperson responded with a statement confirming they had received a formal apology from the council. "The club has received a full apology from Westminster Council following their serious misuse of a registered club badge, which was placed on an illustration of a white supremacist hate group member in a children's education booklet distributed in schools, creating a false and damaging image of the club," the statement read.

The council has committed to ceasing all distribution of the offending image and pledged to destroy all remaining copies in their possession. However, Millwall's position remains unresolved, with the club keeping its legal options firmly on the table.

"The club is still considering its legal position on the matter and are unable to comment further," the spokesperson added.

Westminster City Council acknowledged the severity of the blunder in their own statement. "We accept the use of this image was an insensitive way to illustrate the historic problem of racism within football," a council spokesperson said. "We have apologised to Millwall Football Club for the improper use of their logo and for any offence caused."

The council confirmed the booklet has been withdrawn from circulation and committed to reviewing their internal processes to prevent any recurrence of such an error.