Man United fans defend Maguire with 'ridiculous' reaction to England booing

A number of Manchester United supporters have sprung to the defence of captain Harry Maguire after he was booed by England supporters after stepping off the bench in Tuesday evening's embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Hungary.

Just three days after facing Italy in a virtually empty Molineux, supporters were present for the Three Lions' latest UEFA nations League outing, as England suffered their biggest defeat on home soil since 1928. After trailing 1-0 at half-time, Gareth Southgate's side collapsed after half-time, conceding a further three goals in the space of just 19 second-half minutes.

It was a bafflingly poor performance, meaning Southgate and his players have plenty to work on ahead of the World Cup starting in Qatar in late-November. The England boss made nine changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Italy on Saturday, with Maguire among those to drop out.

However, the United man did step off the bench with just five minutes left to play, replacing Bukayo Saka. The Three Lions were 3-0 down at that stage and supporters inside the stadium were perplexed by the decision to introduce a centre-back with the damage having already been done.

As Maguire jogged onto the pitch, boos rang out from all four sides of Molineux. It created a hostile and intimidating entrance for the United defender, who has been one of England's best performers over the past few years.

Maguire experienced a difficult campaign for United in 2021/22, but he has remained at the forefront of Southgate's plans. The boos directed at the defender — who had been sat on the bench for practically the whole evening — were unjustified and left United's supporters unimpressed.

Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what they had to say on social media:

As you can see from the messages displayed in the tweets above, many United supporters felt the booing of Maguire was uncalled for. He has been a commanding figure for England over the past few years, helping them reach both the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and final of the 2020 European Championship.

On the booing that greeted the full-time whistle, Southgate said: "I understand the reaction in the stadium, what I would say is that in these sets of fixtures, these players have been unbelievable for the country. They [the fans] have to stay with them.

"Tonight was the sort of night that my predecessors have had. It's important to stand. I'm not going to say it doesn't hurt."