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| There were boos when Hary Maguire’s name was announced before kick off and early in the match when he touched the ball |
England players showed their support for Harry Maguire after the defender was booed by a section of fans during Tuesdayโs 3-0 friendly win over Ivory Coast, with Jordan Henderson saying that Maguire has been a โcolossusโ for the team.
Maguire has been struggling for form at Manchester United and there were boos when his name was announced before kick off and early in the match when he touched the ball.
โI canโt get my head around what happened at Wembley tonight,โ Henderson, who was an unused substitute, tweeted. โHarry Maguire has been a colossus for England.โ
Maguire helped England reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the European Championship final last year.
โWithout him, the progress made at the last two tournaments would not have been possible,โ Henderson added. โTo be booed at his home stadium, for no reason? What have we become? What happened tonight was just wrong.โ
Midfielder Jack Grealish also condemned the jeering and described Maguire as a โstrong-minded personโ.
โHeโs been a fantastic servant for his country and itโs ridiculous for him to get booed. It wasnโt something the team liked,โ Grealish said in the post-match news conference.
The sentiment was echoed by midfielder Declan Rice and striker Harry Kane, who also urged fans to show their support for Maguire.
โAbsolute nonsense now itโs becoming. Back your own players. Especially with a major tournament coming up,โ Rice said, referring to this yearโs Qatar World Cup.
Kane tweeted: โThe fact that heโs been brilliant on the pitch and given us all so many great memories makes it even harder to understand.
โHe doesnโt deserve that reception. Heโs got full support in the changing room and should have the same from every England fan.โ
On Wednesday, Maguire tweeted a photo of himself in the England kit with the caption โEnjoyable week playing for my countryโ.
REUTERS
