Gareth Southgate has slammed the “ridiculous” treatment of Harry Maguire by fans and the media in a passionate defence rant.
The Manchester United and England international is no stranger to having been in the firing lines of criticism from both home and rival fans, as well as countless pundits and media outlets, since his rise to fame and earning a starring role in the heart of defences for both club and country, largely due to his several high-profile controversies and mistakes in recent years.
And that criticism was as evident as ever last night, as when Maguire was brought on at half-time for England’s 3-1 win over Scotland after Marc Guehi sustained an injury, he was subjected to ironic cheers from the Scottish fans with every pass he made.
This was, as you’d expect, made even worse by the fact the 30-year-old unfortunately scored an own-goal despite England clinching the win.
It was a similar situation for the 30-year-old during United’s Premier League clash with Arsenal a couple of weekends back too, where the Gunners fans took aim at the centre half as soon as he entered the pitch.
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But now, it sounds like his national team manager has just had enough of it all – in fact, he’s “livid”.
Southgate may have praised England fans’ response to Maguire’s wrongdoings during last night’s victory, but when taking a look at the bigger picture, he’s just not happy about the level of criticism the defender receives overall.
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Gareth Southgate brands treatment of Harry Maguire ‘a joke’ in fiery defence rant / Credit: Eddie Keogh (via The FA)
Launching a passionate defence of Maguire while speaking directly to the media during his post-match press conference last night, Southgate said: “He’s just come out and spoken to the media, which I think shows the resilience and the character of him.
“[But] we’re now in a situation where, because of people in our own country, the opposition think they can have fun with him.
“What’s that about?
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“He’s been an incredible player for England in one of the most successful teams we’ve had, critical for what we’ve been doing [and] we allow him to be open to that?
"It's a joke, an absolute joke. It makes me livid"
“It’s a joke, an absolute joke – it makes me livid.
“Thankfully, he’s got the support of the dressing room and the people behind him. I thought the England fans in the stadium tonight were absolutely brilliant [and] I’ve no problem with the Scotland fans – they’re having fun.
“But what stirs that up is people in our own country. Other players will think: ‘Is that what awaits us?’
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Emily Sergeant -
13th September 2023 
