Fans have been appalled this month to find the colours of their historic rivals Manchester United have found their way on to the kit, by way of their team’s new sponsor, Red Bull.

Such is the distaste among Leeds fans for the colour red that a former sponsor, 23red, designed a blue logo especially for the team’s shirt. The McDonald’s restaurant next to the Elland Road ground is thought to be the only one with red removed from its branding.

But Leeds United supporters have to contend with the beloved white of their home shirt being blemished with their most hated colour: red.

Daniel Chapman, who writes the Leedsista newsletter and is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller 100 Years of Leeds United, theorised that the hatred of red may simply come from a sense of fans losing control over the club they love.