English international Jordan Henderson, who recently left Liverpool to join Saudi club Al Ettifaq, was booed off by the fans in his last match against Australia, and the reason had nothing to do with the player’s performance.
One of the hardest things to do in football is to impress the fans. A player can do everything in his power and still get hate from the public due to a difference of opinion. Jordan Henderson has spoken about the incident with the media, and the former Liverpool captain is not at all happy with what happened.
Jordan Henderson responds to boo boys
England and Australia faced each other in a friendly match on October 14, 2023. The match was a close one, but it ended with a score of 1-0 in England’s favor. England found a breakthrough in the 57th minute when forward Ollie Watkins received a beautiful assist from Jack Grealish, which the 27-year-old easily converted into a goal. Australia also gave their best, taking 14 shots at goal but failing to find the net.
Though the Three Lions managed to win, one of their key players, namely Jordan Henderson, was booed by his own fans at the end of the match. In a post-match interview, the Al Ettifaq player talked to the media about how the whole incident made him feel, saying, “It’s not nice, your own fans, if they were booing.” “Of course it’s disappointing, but it won’t change what I do here. I want to keep playing and help the team become successful,” he added.
Potential reason for fan jeering
When asked whether or not he knows the reason why the fans booed him, Jordan Henderson said, “Not really. I don’t know. Do you?.” The English captain was then told that it may be because he has started playing for Al Ettifaq, a club that is associated with a country where homosexuality is illegal, to which he replied, “If people want to boo if I’m playing in a different country, that’s fine. Everyone is going to have an opinion over playing over in Saudi Arabia.
The midfielder said that he is doing in the Saudi Pro League what he has always done in the Premier League, which is trying to win and improve his team. “When I’m going out there, I’m just playing football, trying to improve the league, trying to improve my own team, and trying to win games. I do the same when I come here,” he said.
It is clear from Jordan Henderson’s words that the English international does not hate the LGBTQ community and is treating his new club just like any other football club in the world.
