Harry Maguire has claimed the supporters who booed Jordan Henderson “aren’t England fans”. The former Liverpool midfielder was booed when substituted against Australia last Friday and when brought on during Tuesday’s win over Italy, although in the second match a larger portion of the crowd cheered his introduction.
The booing of Henderson at Wembley appears to be a response to his summer move to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq. The former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger said at the time that Henderson’s “brand” as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community was dead and Liverpool’s official LGBT+ fans group, Kop Outs, questioned whether Henderson “was ever an actual ally”.
Maguire, who was booed by England fans at Wembley before and briefly during a friendly against Ivory Coast in March 2022 and before a game against Germany that September, said: “Proper England fans don’t boo players. Don’t boo players who dedicate their life to play and do everything they can to make this country have good memories and have special moments for them and their families.”
Henderson was among the players who came out strongly in defence of Maguire after that Ivory Coast game, tweeting: “What happened tonight was just wrong.” Maguire, who has also been booed by Manchester United supporters, reflected on the mixed reception Henderson received on Tuesday.
“You heard when he came on the cheers and a few jeers, but they aren’t England fans,” the defender said.
England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, has criticised the booing of Henderson, who said after the Australia match he did not understand the cause of the reaction. When told it was probably because of his transfer, he said: “If people want to boo if I’m playing in a different country, that’s fine. Everyone is going to have an opinion over playing over in Saudi.”
