Harry Maguire risks England supporters’ backlash as he says ‘proper fans don’t boo’ after Henderson targeted
HARRY MAGUIRE has sparked a backlash for claiming England boo-boys are not “proper fans”.
The Manchester United defender has previously been targeted.
And Jordan Henderson was jeered in the games against Australia and Italy for his Saudi Arabia move.
Maguire, 30, 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 special moments for them and the fans and their families.
“I know a lot of top, top England fans and I know the England fans who have been with me ever since my debut.
“They’re right behind me and they’re right behind Jordan as well. You heard a lot of cheers and yes, a few jeers, but they aren’t England fans.”
But England’s LGBT+ supporters’ group says Henderson should not be surprised by the boos.
Henderson had been a strong backer of the LGBT+ community but then moved to Saudi Arabia, a country where homosexuality is illegal and there are poor human rights.
A spokesman for Three Lions Pride said: “To say fans who follow this team loyally home and away, and at great personal expense, are not ‘proper’ fans gatekeeps the game.
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“Gatekeeping football to what a player believes makes a ‘proper’ fan harks back to a time where LGBT+ fans weren’t welcome and excludes people from the beautiful game.
“Fans are the soul of the game — without us there is no atmosphere.
“Booing is never something that fans wish to do to their own team but it is indicative of the strength of feeling around this issue and Henderson’s choices.
“It is clear that it is not just LGBT+ fans who think that he is a Saudi sell-out.
“How else would Maguire like fans to register their distaste?”
Meanwhile, one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Oi, Harry Maguire, chill out, mate. It’s football, not high tea with the Queen. Some fans boo, get over it.”
Another supporter also added: “If you expect all the praise and admiration when things are going well, then expect the proportionate criticism and ridicule when they aren’t.