Jordan Henderson faced a chorus of boos from his own supporters during England’s match against Australia, despite expressing how much of an “honor” it was to captain his national team.

The Three Lions secured a 1-0 victory in this friendly match, thanks to Ollie Watkins’ second-half goal from Aston Villa. Henderson, the former Liverpool skipper, led the team as captain, while Harry Kane remained on the bench without playing. Shortly after the opening goal, Henderson was substituted for Kieran Trippier, and as he made his way to the dugout, the disapproving jeers from his own fans were evident.

The 33-year-old stirred controversy during the summer when he left Liverpool to join the Saudi Pro League team Al Ettifaq, where he was reunited with Steven Gerrard, who serves as the club’s head coach. Throughout his 11-year tenure with the Reds, Henderson was a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. His decision to move to Saudi Arabia, a country where homosexuality is punishable by death, shocked the public.

Friday’s game, held on October 13th, marked Henderson’s return to the England national team following his transfer, and the fans certainly made their sentiments clear about him, even though he was leading the country.

Despite the negative reception, the Al-Ettifaq star conveyed his delight at the opportunity to lead his national team through a series of Instagram posts.

In a post that garnered over 83,000 likes, Henderson wrote: “Always an honour to represent my country, never take it for granted. Extra special to lead the team out at Wembley.” After the match, England manager Gareth Southgate voiced his support for Henderson’s commitment to his country and criticized those who chose to boo him instead of supporting the team.

“I really don’t understand it,” Southgate remarked. “He’s a player who has won 79 caps for England and his commitment and what he has delivered for England is exceptional. His role in the group on and off the pitch is phenomenally important.”

He went on to say, “Some people deciding to boo I really don’t understand what that is for. Come on – we play Italy on Tuesday and let’s get behind this team. I don’t really know where we are heading with everything.”

Among those disappointed by Henderson’s decision to join the Saudi Pro League is the England LGBTQ+ fan group, Three Lions Pride. The group’s chair, Joe White, expressed concerns about the “inconsistencies” in Henderson’s explanations for joining the league and suggested that his actions have “tarnished” his previous support for the LGBTQ+ community.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror Football, Joe White stated, “He comments when told about our protest that he was ‘very hurt’. Well in Saudi Arabia, LGBT+ people’s feelings are just hurt, they can be killed.”

“It is one of the two countries in the world that Amnesty believe still do carry out killings just for people being LGBT. The issue with it is there are so many contradictions throughout what he’s saying.”

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Jordan Henderson

This season he played in total 8 times for 718 minutes for Pro League.

Jordan Henderson didn’t score any goal for Al Ittifaq. He procured 4 assists. He received 2 yellow cards and no red cards.

His team is currently 7th in Pro League. In the last match Al Ittifaq lost 2-1 against Al Fateh. The next match in Pro League will be against Al Riyadh.

Al Ittifaq performance and stats

Al Ittifaq is currently 7th in the Pro League with 17 points.

In the last 9 games, it has won 5 times, drawn twice, and lost twice. In its last match, Al Ittifaq lost 1-2 against Al Fateh.​​

It has a positive goal difference after scoring 16 goals and conceding 11.​

Al Ittifaq will play the next match in Pro League against Al Riyadh on Wednesday 18th of October in Riyadh.​

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