Man gets 20,000 people to sign petition to change ‘incorrect’ football street signs

MATT PARKER has gained over 20,000 signatures on his government petition to alter signs that depict footballs as being made entirely of hexagons.

Parker argues that it is mathematically impossible to construct a ball using just hexagons.

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The logo, used since 1994, is geometrically wrong according to Parker, as the ball should be a mixture of pentagons and hexagons.

He has declared the signs a “national embarrassment,” and people seem to agree with him – over 20,000 people to be exact.

Matt told the Metro: “The football shown on UK street signs [for football grounds] is made entirely of hexagons.

“But it is mathematically impossible to construct a ball using only hexagons. Changing this to the correct pattern of hexagons and pentagons would help raise public awareness and appreciation of geometry.

“I agree that it is a trivial concern! My bigger worry is that there is an attitude that maths and science are not important and it does not matter if people are not good at them.”

The Government have indeed responded to the petition, and it’s not looking good for Parker and the 20,000 others that have signed.

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On the government website they write: “The Government considers the current football symbol has a clear meaning and is understood by the public.

“Changing the design to show accurate geometry is not appropriate in this context.

“Additionally the public funding required to change every football sign nationally would place an unreasonable financial burden on local authorities.

“The Department could not justify the spending needed as an exercise to increase public awareness and appreciation of geometry.

They conclude: “We will not be changing the football symbol used on a traffic sign.”

Parker has until 6 April 2018 to gain 100,000 signatures, at which point the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.