Roy Keane has criticised Gareth Southgate’s reaction to Harry Maguire getting booed during England’s friendly win against the Ivory Coast last night, saying he has escalated the situation.
The England manager described the actions of the booing of the Manchester United captain by England fans as an ‘absolute joke’ in his post-match interview. A number of other senior England players have hit out at their own supporters.
Roy Keane vs Southgate
Roy Keane, often the contrarian and a frequent critic of Maguire, believed that Southgate was making a bigger deal out of the situation than was needed.
Speaking on ITV last night, Keane said:
“I think Gareth's made it a bigger story than what it is. Every player gets booed. There’s going to be idiots at football matches. England fans have got a lot of idiots. And if they’re going to boo Harry Maguire, I think Gareth could have easily said tonight, it’s no big deal. He actually played well tonight, just focus on that.
“I think he’s made a bigger story than what it is, and Gareth is almost picking and choosing when to support his players. Sterling had a bust-up two or three years ago, he was bombed out of the squad. He’s left other players out. I remember when Harry was sent off, was it last year against Denmark? He didn’t really support him – I thought – when he was walking off the pitch.
‘”So I think Gareth’s made a bigger story than what it is. Just get on with the game. He played well! And he’ll get fans back onside by his performances, not by people reacting to a few boos or social media. Forget about it. Be big enough and man enough just to get on with the game. And he played well – that’s the most important thing.”
It would appear that Southgate had little choice but to stick up for his player, particularly given his impressive performance and the solidarity of this England squad.
Maguire’s fellow England stars also came out to bat for the centre back, with Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson among those who stuck up for their teammate.
— Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) March 29, 2022
The fact that he’s been brilliant on the pitch and given us all so many great memories makes it even harder to understand. He doesn’t deserve that reception. He’s got full support in the changing room and should have the same from every England fan.
— Harry Kane (@HKane) March 30, 2022
Southgate also pointed the finger at 'former footballers' for being too critical of Maguire and driving up fan angst towards the former Leicester fullback. We wonder who he had in mind.
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