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England coach, Gareth Southgate has condemned the \u201cridiculous treatment\u201d of Harry Maguire, saying the criticism the defender has faced is \u201ca joke\u201d.<\/p>\n
Maguire, 30, gained his 59th cap but scored an own goal in\u00a0the 3-1 away friendly win over Scotland on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He helped England reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020 but has struggled for first-team football at Manchester United.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve never known a player treated the way he is,\u201d said Southgate.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful England team for decades \u2013 he\u2019s been an absolutely key part of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked about the importance of our senior players, he\u2019s been crucial among that.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time he goes on the field, the resilience he shows is absolutely incredible. He\u2019s a top player and we\u2019re all with him and our fans were brilliant with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maguire was stripped of the United captaincy this summer and linked with a move away from the club, but remained at Old Trafford after injuries to fellow defenders.<\/p>\n
He made his first appearance of the season on 3 September as a second-half substitute in United\u2019s 3-1 loss to Arsenal.<\/p>\n
Against Scotland, Maguire came on as a substitute at half-time and was mocked by the home fans before he scored a 67th-minute own goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a Scotland fans\u2019 point of view I get it. I have absolutely no complaints with what they did,\u201d added Southgate.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a joke. Not by the Scottish fans but by our own commentators, pundits or whatever it is. They\u2019ve created something that\u2019s beyond anything I have ever seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our fans recognised, \u2018OK there might be a bit of heat from our own supporters but we\u2019re not going to have others getting into him\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former England winger Chris Waddle, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, agreed that Maguire was being targeted unfairly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive him credit, I didn\u2019t see him give the ball away, the own goal was the only thing he did wrong,\u201d said Waddle.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should\u2019ve gone abroad and got a move. If he had gone to Italy he could pass the ball out from the back \u2013 we know he lacks a bit of pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would\u2019ve been ideal to go abroad and play football for a year then when he comes back to England he would get half [of the criticism] he gets now and it\u2019s ridiculous what [criticism] he gets now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maguire ended the game with the England captain\u2019s armband after Harry Kane, who had scored England\u2019s third goal after earlier strikes from Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, was substituted in the 84th minute.<\/p>\n
Southgate again praised Maguire\u2019s character for how he reacted after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gone and spoken to the media as that\u2019s the sort of lad he is,\u201d added Southgate. \u201cHe\u2019s fronted up as he always does, again enormous credit to his character.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s great, we\u2019ve had a big win. He\u2019s been a big part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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