'He deserves our support' - Harry Maguire booed by fans in Man Utd friendly
Karan Tejwani
- 19 Jul 2022 12:38 BST
- 6 min read
Manchester United are taking on Crystal Palace in a pre-season friendly in Melbourne, Australia, and the topic of discussion has been Harry Maguire.
The Red Devils captain was repeatedly booed in the early minutes of the match, first when his named was called out on the PA system, and then every time he touched the ball in the opening period of the game.
There were also sarcastic cheers for him when he gave the ball away, or on one occasion, sent a shot over the bar whilst on the turn towards the end of the half.
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This is largely due to the negativity surrounding the captain due to his underwhelming performances for the club over the last year, which has had an effect on the team’s performances.
Maguire booing met with confusion
The reaction has been criticized, especially seeing as it’s a new season under a new manager, and Maguire has admitted his shortcomings from the past season.
Additionally, many have been quick to point out that this is just a pre-season friendly in a country that rarely gets to host Manchester United playing against Premier League opposition.
Maguire being loudly booed every time he touches the ball. Booed when his name read out as team announced and he's been booed on four separate occasions in the first five minutes of the game #mufc #cpfc
— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) July 19, 2022
Wild cheers greet Maguire shooting just wide, when his image is shown on big screen.
He's had a good half.#MUFC— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) July 19, 2022
If you're booing Maguire in a pre-season friendly you need to grow up
— Casey Evans (@Casey_Evans_) July 19, 2022
The Maguire booing maybe makes me think the international fans in attendance are more terminally online and have really really consumed the negative social media aspect?
— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) July 19, 2022
Has Maguire killed Karl Kennedy or something
— Wayne Barton (@WayneSBarton) July 19, 2022
Maguire having his best performance (so far) since Leicester at start of April, as far as #mufc is concerned. Overcome early boos and seems to have won the crowd over. Next to no booing now.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) July 19, 2022
I'm not a Maguire fan but booing him like this is quite detestable. He might not be the best but whenever a player is playing for United, he deserves our full support be it Maguire, Mctominay or someone else
— Shihab (@Shihab06) July 19, 2022
This isn’t the first time Maguire has been jeered – it happened on a few occasions towards the end of last season, and even once when he was playing for England at Wembley Stadium.
To drown out the booing from certain sections of the supporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, others cheered louder, in a bid to support their club captain.
Manchester United were relatively untroubled in the first half of their friendly against Crystal Palace, with Maguire having little to do apart from passing the ball around.
Prior to the game, his manager Erik ten Hag has been showing his support for the Englishman, retaining him as captain and saying he will have a big role to play in the upcoming season.
Considering Manchester United have just agreed a deal for Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez, there will be plenty of competition for a place in the back-line.
