Harry Maguire’s mother, Zoe, has publicly defended her son and said the level of criticism of his performances from fans and pundits has been “disgraceful.”
England boss Gareth Southgate has come under criticism for continuing to select Maguire despite his lack of playing time at United.
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The reaction intensified after the 3-1 win over Scotland when the Manchester United defender clumsily prodding a low cross into his own net in the 67th minute.
After the match, Southgate described the negative treatment of Maguire as a “joke,” and on Thursday, Maguire’s mother made a similar statement.
In an Instagram post, she said: “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 [at Hampden] as usual. It’s not acceptable what’s been created, over nothing. 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.”
Maguire said he can deal with hostile treatment from opposition supporters and that it takes the pressure off his England teammates after the defender was mocked by Scotland fans following his own goal.
Maguire described his treatment by Scottish fans as “a little bit of banter.”
“It pretty much takes the pressure away from my teammates and puts it all on myself,” he told reporters after England’s 3-1 win. “It makes them play better, for sure.
“We knew coming here, when you hear the national anthem and the way they 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.”
Maguire, who joined United from Leicester City for £80 million ($99.94m) in 2019, was stripped of the club captaincy by manager Erik ten Hag in July.
He has struggled for first-team football at the Premier League side, although he turned down a move to West Ham this summer.
“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,” he said.