The BBC has been ridiculed over an article suggesting the knight costumes worn by England football fans could be offensive to Muslims.

For more than two decades, England supporters have dressed as knights for matches, sporting fake chain-mail and St George's cross tabards.

But ahead of Euro 2016, which begins on Friday, the BBC's iWonder website published an article entitled: 'Is it wrong to dress as a crusader for an England match?'

An article on the BBC website suggests the knight costumes worn by England fans could be offensive

The outfits have become commonplace over the last two decades with the St George's cross seen as patriotic

The webpage states: 'Knights are associated with strength and honour through stories of chivalrous heroes like King Arthur.

'However, crusaders were the perpetrators of violent attacks across Europe and the Middle East on Muslims, Jews and pagans.'

It also reports that the St George's cross used to be associated with 'far-right nationalism' but has since been brought back into the mainstream.

The advice page - which has been branded 'PC nonsense' - then tells fans: 'Perhaps you mean to dress up as St. George.

'However, the real St. George wouldn't have worn anything like this. He was a Palestinian and a soldier in the Roman army in the 3rd Century AD, so he would have worn scale armour, not mail armour.'

The website then gives a history of the crusades from 1095, setting out atrocities and looting carried out by the crusading armies.

The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding have also pointed the negative connotations of the word 'crusade' in the Arab world.

But the BBC article has been widely mocked online, where England fans claimed it will only increase the desire to wear one of the outfits.

The BBC article, placed on the iWonder section of its website, asked whether the practice was offensive

It gave a history of the crusades, which went through the atrocities carried out by knights in the Holy Land

Paul Brickman wrote: 'Where do I by my Crusader outfit then? Anything to annoy the #BBC PC Brigade.'

John Moore joked: 'Will the BBC ever issue a warning that dressing as a viking may cause offence to Northumbrian monks?'

Mark Perryman, of supporters group LondonEnglandFans, told The Times: 'There are all kinds of issues around racism and Islamophobia but I don't think this is one of them.

'I have never known any country to take offence to it and I'm sure they won't now.'

A poll at the bottom of the article found that 85% of people thought it was okay to wear a crusader outfit.

A BBC spokesman said the 'iWonder guide' did not pass judgment but was designed to 'ask questions which encourage debate'.