Gareth Southgate reveals why boos won't affect Jordan Henderson's role in England squad
- Henderson's summer transfer to Saudi club Al Ettifaq was criticised
- The midfielder was booed by England fans on Friday in the 1-0 win over Australia
- Manager Southgate has doubled down in support of the former Liverpool captain
Gareth Southgate has insisted he'll continue to pick Jordan Henderson for England duty after the midfielder was roundly booed during the friendly clash with Australia.
The former Liverpool captain was booed when he was substituted in the second half of the 1-0 win over Australia on Friday at Wembley Stadium, having faced public criticism for his summer move to Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq.
Henderson's move to Saudi Arabia has been met with extreme disappointment from the LGBTQ+ community - a community he has been a vocal supporter of in the past - due to the country's poor human rights record.
Speaking to the press ahead of England's Euro 2024 qualifying clash with Italy, manager Southgate was asked if Henderson will be selected for future squads despite being booed by fans.
He said: "Yes, 100%. I'll always pick the players that I think are the best players to represent the team, that give us the best chance of winning, unless there's something that I feel is not appropriate.
"In this instance, people may disagree with Jordan's stance or decision, given the stance he's taken in the past to support the LGBT community, but I don't think that's a reason to not select him.
"I don't actually think that's a reason to boo him. We would like the fans behind us, we're a stronger team if the supporters are with us and wholeheartedly supporting the team. That's the connection we've had over a long period of time now."
This is the second time in recent months Southgate has been forced to come out in defence of a player who has been jeered. In the aftermath of England's friendly win over Scotland, the manager also backed under-fire Harry Maguire after the defender scored an own goal at Hamden Park.
Asked whether or not he is keen to pick players in spite of fans' thoughts on them, Southgate replied: "We'll assess Jordan like any other player. If I just select on a popularity contest our team would look very, very different.
"I'll always assess how people are playing and what our strongest team is. It wouldn't be fair to say that I'm going to support the players and select them regardless of what they're capable of if better younger players come through.
"But, I am also going to defend our players, our team, because we need that strength and the two players you're talking about [Maguire and Henderson] have performed for us again and again and again in big games. Their quality and their experience, the unmeasurable factors that we have as a group because of that team spirit that brought us good results, I think they're the sort of characters that are a big part of the reason for that."
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