England manager Gareth Southgate has leapt to the defence of Harry Maguire after more criticism following Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Scotland.
The Man United star scored an own goal in the second half after coming off of the bench at halftime and that sparked another conversation around the centre-back, who has gone through a tough period in his career over the past two seasons.
The 30-year-old has strangely received abuse from his own fans throughout this time, both at Man United and with England, whilst pundits have also been consistent with their negative comments about the England star.
Following England’s win over Scotland on Tuesday, Southgate leapt to Maguire’s defence and labelled the criticism the player receives “a joke”.
Speaking after the match, Southgate says he has never seen a player treated the way Maguire is and that the criticism of the defender is a joke.
The England boss said via Tim Spiers: “It’s a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time. It’s a joke, I’ve never known a player treated like he is, not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is.
“It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
Southgate on Maguire
"It's a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time. It's a joke, I've never known a player treated like he is, not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is.
"It's beyond anything I've ever seen."
— Tim Spiers (@TimSpiers) September 12, 2023
Southgate should have realised what would happen, I think everyone else did and scoring an own goal made things 10 times worse
Well stop picking him then. There’s players out there getting regular game time who should be miles in front of Maguire. But no. The joke is you Southgate. Picking players who aren’t even playing well or getting in their own club team. Your loyalty is admirable but misguided and misplaced. No wonder England never wins anything. Negative team selection and daft negative tactics every game. Get a goal and then sit on it. Instead of getting a goal and finishing games and teams off with another. The final against Italy being the prime example