Following England’s wins over Italy and Australia in Wembley, the Three Lions have successfully qualified for Euro 2024 in Germany. Despite the positive results at the two home matches, England’s Jordan Henderson was booed at both games.
This was the former Liverpool captain’s first set of games back in England after his move to Al-Ettifaq, a club in the Saudi Pro League. The negative reaction from English fans appears to be a result of his summer move to Saudi Arabia.
The summer transfer was controversial as Henderson appears to have betrayed his previous support for LGBTQ+ movements by accepting a huge payday in the form of a reported salary of £700,000 a week and playing in a country in which being gay is illegal.
Joe White, the co-founder of Three Lions Pride and co-chair of Pride in Football, a group that used to champion Henderson for his support of the OneLove armband and the Rainbow Laces campaign, spoke to PA News Agency and accused the midfielder of “turn[ing] his back on us.” Adding that Henderson’s “presence could actually be more harmful to local LGBT people if he does speak out because the people who do get impacted on aren’t high-profile footballers, they’re your standard LGBT people who will then get the backlash.”
Despite some intense criticism from LGBTQ+ movements and groups, Henderson has found significant support from the English team. Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire, who has previously suffered abuse due to his lacklustre performances, argued that those who booed “aren’t England fans.” England manager Gareth Southgate has echoed this sentiment by stating that the negative reaction “defies logic” and that Henderson has been “a brilliant role model for all of the group in his professionalism.”
Henderson said that the negative reaction hurt and he was initially confused by it, but admitted that he can “understand the reasons” behind LGBTQ+ groups’ responses to his move. Although he did argue that his “values haven’t changed as a person” and that he has just gone “to a different country to play football.” The English midfielder also added that he was “not a politician” and that it was not within his scope as a professional athlete to demand legal change, especially in a foreign country.
Ultimately, the reaction from England fans towards Henderson at Wembley, while overshadowing their EURO 2024 qualification, has highlighted the crucial issue of sport-washing and the ethical complications facing both athletes and fans.
“2022-07-21 Fußball, Männer,Freundschaftsspiel, RB Leipzig – FC Liverpool 1DX 2238 by Stepro” by Steffen Prößdorf is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.