Harry Maguire’s mother, Zoe, has hit out at some fans and pundits following the negative and abusive comments directed towards his son earlier this week.
The centre-back has had a difficult 12 months at club level with Manchester United, and he is currently a regular on the substitutes’ bench under manager Erik ten Hag.
Despite this, he has been a mainstay in the England line-up. Maguire started the 1-1 draw against Ukraine last week before coming off the bench in the friendly versus Scotland.
At Hampden Park, Maguire was the subject of jeers and boos from the fans, and some pundits were critical of him after he conceded an own goal during the 3-1 win.
Zoe has now reacted through an Instagram post by criticising the ‘negative’ and ‘abusive’ comments’ directed towards his son from some fans, pundits and the media.
She added that it is ‘disgraceful’ and ‘totally unacceptable’ to any walk of life and particularly to someone, who has worked his socks off for club and country over the years.
She wrote (via The Guardian): “As a mum seeing the level of negative and abusive comments which my son is receiving from some fans, pundits and the media is disgraceful and totally unacceptable to any walk of life, never mind someone who works his socks off for club and country.”
“I was there in the stand [at Hampden] as usual. It’s not acceptable what’s been created, over nothing. I understand that in the football world there are ups and downs, positives and negatives but what Harry receives has gone far beyond ‘football’.
“For me seeing him go through what he’s going through is not ok. I would hate to have to see any other parents or players go through this in the future, especially the young boys and girls breaking through the ranks today.
“Harry has a massive heart and it’s a good job he’s mentally strong and can handle it as others may not be able to. I wish this sort of abuse on nobody.”
Maguire had the opportunity to pursue a fresh challenge away from United this summer. West Ham United agreed on a fee, but a transfer did not materialise in the end.
The centre-back wanted a huge pay-off to head through the exit door, but United could not afford that as they were working on a limited budget due to Financial Fair Play reasons.
Maguire has made just one substitute appearance for the club this term, but this has not hampered his playing time for England where he has the backing of Gareth Southgate.
His performances have not been up to the mark which has led to criticism and in our opinion, his mother’s statement may not do him any favours going forward.
Instead, there could be more focus on Maguire in the coming weeks. Ten Hag could be posed with several questions over the defender in tomorrow’s press conference.
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