Jordan Henderson's presence in the England national team, after his move to the Saudi League, is causing more problems than expected. It was known that a part of public opinion had not liked the fact that the former Liverpool captain, champion of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, had decided to go and play in Saudi Arabia, a country that 'tramples' on the rights of gays and lesbians and limits those of women in general in many fields.
Henderson, who in the past has also played with rainbow laces on his boots, has been accused of betraying his ideals, and even the trust of the people, in the name of the god of money. So during the friendly against Australia there were boos for him, from a good part of the Wembley crowd, at almost every touch of the ball.
But coach Garetho Southgate didn't like it at all, and he didn't fail to point it out. "I don't understand. I know what created this environment and why it happened, but for me it goes against the logic that you can boo a player who is playing and give his heart and soul for England.
How will this help the team?" "I think he's made 79 caps for England with this one," Southgate added, "and he's put his effort into everything he's done for the national team. His role on and off the field is extraordinarily important. It is he, Henderson, who took Jude Bellingham under his protection as soon as he joined the team and has been a role model for the whole group, his professionalism is present in every approach to his work. So yes, some people have decided to boo him, but I really don't understand what it's for."
Then an appeal to the public ahead of the match against Luciano Spalletti's Azzurri. "On Tuesday we play here against Italy," Southgate said. We support this team. I know we weren't at our best against Australia, but that's because of the many changes we've made and I've given the players a really tough task." "Because being cohesive in the face of so much change is difficult. I would just say that this is a team that has given a lot and that everyone deserves the support of the public," concluded the England coach.
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