Harry Maguire’s mum condemns ‘disgraceful’ abuse of England and Man Utd defender – ‘I wish this on nobody’

Harry Maguire’s mum says the “negative and abusive comments” her son has received have been “disgraceful.”

The Manchester United centre-back has also faced ridicule from his own supporters while representing club and country.

“As a mum, seeing the level of negative and abusive comments which my son is receiving from some fans, pundits and the media is disgraceful and totally unacceptable to any walk of life, never mind someone who works his socks off for club and country. I was there in the stand as usual, it’s not acceptable what’s been created, over nothing,” Zoe Maguire said in a post on Instagram.

“I understand that in the football world, there are ups and downs, positives and negatives, but what Harry receives has gone far beyond ‘football’.

“For me seeing him go through what he’s going through is not OK. I would hate to have to see any other parents or players go through this in the future, especially the young boys and girls breaking through the ranks today.

“Harry has a massive heart, and it’s a good job he’s mentally strong and can handle it as others may not be able to. I wish this sort of abuse on nobody.”

Against Scotland at Hampden Park, the 30-year-old came off the bench with England 2-0 up thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.

His own goal gave the hosts some momentum to try and get back into the match, before Harry Kane scored a late third to seal the victory for Gareth Southgate’s men.

Maguire spoke about the abuse he received in Glasgow, saying: “It is a little bit of banter, and it is a hostile environment, coming away to Scotland. When you hear the national anthem and the way they [Scotland fans] disrespect that, we knew it would be hostile, and in the second half, I got most of it. I am happy to go with that, don’t worry about that.

“It pretty much takes the pressure away from my team-mates and puts it all on myself. It makes them play better, for sure. I would not say I am a person who struggles with pressure mentally. I have been through a lot in the last couple of years, and I have been Manchester United captain for nearly four years.”

Due to his performances, Maguire has fallen down the ranks at Old Trafford, with manager Erik ten Hag stripping the captaincy from him.

He has only made one appearance for the club this season, coming on as a substitute to replace the injured Lisandro Martinez in the 67th minute of a 3-1 loss against Arsenal.

The defender was close to a move to West Ham this summer, and the two clubs reportedly had agreed on a fee, but the transfer fell through days later.

“I finished off last season with two very strong performances for England, and I have played in all five matches to help put us where we are in qualifying, so I need to keep performing when I get chosen,” Maguire added.

“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.”

Southgate came to the defence of Maguire after the Scotland match, saying: “There has been ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time – It’s a joke. I’ve never known a player treated way he is by our own pundits. It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen.

“He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful team for decades. He’s been an absolute key part of that.”

“His performances for England have been outstanding, that’s why he keeps getting picked.

“I don’t think a few whistles and groans from the fans are going to change his mindset. He had 45 minutes in a game where he played well. Kept the ball for us but one unfortunate own goal and people are going to start talking about him and I don’t think it’s needed. It’s a real dream to play with him, and it’s just an unfortunate goal that people are going to highlight and it doesn’t need to be that way.”