Harry Maguire: Gareth Southgate fires back at England fans who booed Man Utd skipper

Harry Maguire was booed by certain sections of the England support during the friendly win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday night.

In a routine victory that saw Ollie Watkins, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings score as well as Serge Aurier pick up a red card, the reception reserved for Maguire dominated the headlines.

The Manchester United captain is currently wading through the toughest spell of his professional career with fans and pundits alike debating whether he should have been called up to the England squad.

However, even within the context of all the criticism that Maguire has been receiving, it was still eyebrow-raising to hear the response that was prompted by his name being read out about before kick off.

Yes, Maguire has been desperately out of form and yes, there’s reason to think he should have been left at home, but does that mean some of his own supporters should be booing him?

England defender Harry Maguire was booed by some sections of the crowd ahead of the friendly against the Ivory Coast at Wembley.pic.twitter.com/bB0P8GaIUo

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of onlookers were singing from the same hymn sheet with the condemnation of Maguire – presumably because of his recent performances – seeming very, very harsh.

And Gareth Southgate was under no illusion that the booing was uncalled for in a week where he’s unabashedly defended a player who shone for England at Euro 2020 and the 2018 World Cup.

The England boss gave a passionate interview to Sky Sports after the final whistle in which he was more than happy to stand by Maguire and let the vocal minority of England fans know that he was unimpressed.

Per the BBC, Southgate fired back by saying: “The reception was a joke, an absolute joke. The way he has