Harry Maguire’s mother hits out at ‘disgraceful’ criticism of England and Man United defender

Harry Maguire’s mother has hit back on social media and defended her son after the centre-back received more criticism in the wake of his latest performance for England.

Maguire came off the bench at half-time as England won 3-1 against Scotland on Tuesday but the former Manchester United captain came under fire once again after scoring an unfortunate own-goal.

The 30-year-old has endured a tough spell in recent months but remained in Gareth Southgate’s England squad despite falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

The England boss came to his defence in the post-match press conference, with Maguire’s mother, Zoe, now also voicing her opinion in a social media post that criticised the abuse he has received.

“As a mum seeing the level of negative and abusive comments in 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,” she said on Instagram.

“I was there in the stand 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 might not be able too. I wish this sort of abuse on nobody!”

Maguire started England’s first game of the international break – despite not starting a game for his club so far this season – as Southgate’s side drew 1-1 with Ukraine in Poland.

The defender has been a mainstay in Southgate’s England side throughout his tenure in charge of the national team and the England boss issued an impassioned defence of Maguire after the Scotland game, labelling the constant criticism of him “ridiculous” and “a joke”.

“It is a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time, frankly,” Southgate said. “I’ve never known a player treated the way he is – not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is.

“They’ve created something that’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen. He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second-most successful England team for decades. He’s been an absolutely key part of that.

“I’ve talked about the importance of our senior players. He’s been crucial amongst that. Every time he goes on the field, the resilience he shows, the balls he shows is absolutely incredible. He’s a top player and we’re all with him and our fans were brilliant with him tonight.”