Commonwealth flag row: DUP MP adds his voice to call for potential change in leadership at top of Team NI

Sammy Wilson’s comments come a day after former UK sports minister Kate Hoey had said that "maybe it is time for a new broom” to lead Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland Ltd (CGNI), the organising body behind Team NI.

Mr Wilson dismissed as “wokery” Mr Heatley’s proposal to change the flag – a proposal which was dropped after the CGNI board met to discuss it on Tuesday night.

The East Antrim MP also praised the intervention of Ulster boxing star Carl Frampton in the debate, saying that his remarks about having competed under the tricolour without complaint were “mature”.

The idea of dropping the Ulster Banner as the flag under which Northern Irish athletes compete in the Commonwealth Games had been raised publicly by Mr Heatley in 2024.

He had argued that the flag was not “inclusive” of all community backgrounds in the Province and that it had been “misappropriated” by some, adding that it had been displayed during attacks on the homes of immigrants, for example.

Then on the Nolan Show this week, Mr Heatley revisited the issue, and suggested that unless he was ordered to do otherwise by politicians then Team NI would drop the Ulster Banner at the upcoming Glasgow 2026 Games.

Communities minister Gordon Lyons then sent him a letter, giving him “guidance” that the Ulster Banner is to be retained – something which CGNI has now accepted.

In the wake of the furore, Mr Wilson told the News Letter Mr Heatley should “consider his position”.

If Mr Heatley “feels he has to give in to the clamouring voices of a minority who don’t want the Ulster flag to be used by the team when it goes to the Commonwealth Games, then is he the kind of strong chief executive you really want?” asked Mr Wilson.

The DUP MP also said that in England, for example, there are leftists and Islamists who oppose the display of the St George’s flag as “divisive” and “a symbol of racism”, but that “the English authorities haven’t given in to that kind of nonsense”.

He said Northern Irish Commonwealth competitors may feel “undermined” by a CGNI that “doesn’t believe that the symbols of the country ought to be proudly displayed when they’re competing”.

On Wednesday, former world featherweight champ Carl Frampton had weighed into the debate.

The retired boxer, from the loyalist Tiger’s Bay district of Belfast, said that in the past he has competed for Ireland and worn a tricolour, and that “never once did I did I have any objections to that”.

Mr Frampton had also said that, had he ever competed for Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Games, he would have felt “disappointed” if he was not fighting under the Ulster Banner.

Mr Wilson said Mr Frampton has shown “a maturity” on the issue of flags that “some other athletes have not shown”.

"When he had to fight under the Irish flag, he fought under the Irish flag,” he said.

"If he was representing Ulster, then he wanted… to be represented under the Ulster flag.”

On Tuesday night, Mr Heatley had issued a statement which said: “The CGNI board and member sports are representative of the wider Northern Ireland community.

"We will continue to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in all we do, in line with our motto ‘One Community, One Team’.

"Since November 2020, Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland has been asking the Northern Ireland government for guidance regarding which flag should be flown at the Commonwealth Games.

"Following extensive media coverage on Monday, January 12, 2026, Mr Gordon Lyons MLA provided such guidance.

"The minister for communities, who holds the portfolio for sport, offered ‘clear and unequivocal guidance’ and stated ‘for the avoidance of doubt, and to reiterate on the guidance which you have sought, the Ulster Banner should be used as the flag for Northern Ireland athletes at the Commonwealth Games’.

"We note this guidance which will be implemented.”

Mr Heatley has been contacted for comment.