Gareth Southgate sends firm message to England fans booing Jordan Henderson as he continues to back player
Gareth Southgate insists he will always pick the 'best players' for England after supporters booed Jordan Henderson last Friday.
The former Liverpool midfielder and now Al Ettifaq star was jeered by some fans when he was substituted during their 1-0 friendly win over Australia.
Henderson was criticised for his move to Saudi Arabia after being a vocal supporter for the LGBTQ+ community during his time at Anfield.
Southgate revealed afterwards that he didn't understand the reaction to the 33-year-old from the Wembley crowd.
And speaking ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, live on talkSPORT, he called for fans to support the whole team.
In his press conference on Monday, Southgate said: «I'll always pick the players that I think are the best players to represent the team, give us the best chance of winning unless there's something that I feel is not appropriate.
»In this instance, people may disagree with Jordan's stance or decision given the stance he's taken in the past to support the LGBT community. But I don't think that's a reason to not select him and I don't actually think that's a reason to boo him.
«So, we would like all the fans behind us, we're a stronger team if the supporters are with us and wholeheartedly supporting the team.
»That's the connection we've had over a long period of time now and we'll assess Jordan like every other player but if I just select on a popularity contest, then our team would look very, very different."
Henderson's England teammate Jude Bellingham and Al Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard sent messages of support for him after the boos.
Kyle Walker is also backing his Three Lions co-star, saying: «He's a big part of the togetherness and keeping the group together and making sure that
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