England centre-back Harry Maguire characterised the response from Scotland’s supporters during Tuesday’s friendly at Hampden Park as “a little bit banter,” expressing his ability to handle it. Scottish fans playfully taunted the Manchester United defender by sarcastically applauding his passes, and Maguire later unintentionally scored an own goal in England’s 3-1 victory.
In the aftermath, Maguire said: “It is a little bit of banter and it is a hostile environment, coming away to Scotland”.
Gareth Southgate strongly criticised the “absurd treatment” of his defender following the match. Maguire played a pivotal role in England’s journey to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the Euro 2020 final, and he held the captaincy at Manchester United after an £80 million transfer from Leicester. However, a dip in his performance led to the 30-year-old losing his starting spot at Old Trafford and the captain’s armband. Despite this, he continues to be a regular presence for the England squad. His substitution at half-time during the Hampden Park match was merely part of Southgate’s rotation strategy for the friendly.
Maguire has been subjected to significant criticism in the media and on social platforms, which has even led to jeers from his own fans, both while representing England in 2022 friendlies against Ivory Coast and Germany, and during Manchester United’s pre-season matches.
Southgate conceded that had no complaints with the Scottish fans mocking Maguire but did state that it was a “consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time”.
Out of Maguire’s last five matches, four have been with the England national team, while his sole appearance for Manchester United this season came as a substitute during their loss to Arsenal. Nonetheless, Maguire, who came close to a transfer to West Ham during the summer, remains optimistic that he will see more action for United, especially with the Champions League and Carabao Cup fixtures on the horizon this month.
“I know when I have not started a game in the first four games of the season, the story comes to me,” said Maguire.
“At club football, I want to play games, I want to play football.
“The first four weeks were hard because it was one game a week and the manager didn’t select me, but we have lots of games coming up now and I am sure I will play lots of games.”
