Jordan Henderson to face protest from angry England fans in Ukraine match
Jordan Henderson will face a protest from angry England fans if he plays during the Three Lions' Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday.
Henderson left Liverpool in July to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, having previously been a vocal supporter of LGBT+ rights. But the Saudi state, which now pays the England star's wages, persecutes the LGBT+ community, with homosexuality carrying the death penalty.
The midfielder's decision to move to Saudi has left LGBT+ people believing he has turned his back on them. And members of the Three Lions Pride supporters group will now do the same to him if he features for England against Ukraine on Saturday evening.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, co-chair of the group, Joe White, said: "Having spoken to some of our members, there was a real sense of disappointment. There was a question on whether people were intending to boo and the original intention was to try to focus on being supportive of the team.
"But if we wanted to make a stand, then turning our backs is quite a symbolic move, particularly given how the community has felt. Since his interview, that may well change. I would imagine people are more likely to boo or show an audible distaste.
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"There are members attending who we've spoken to and told the position of the group, which is to turn backs. If they want to boo that's a personal decision. The issue with booing when you're part of the England fan movement, it could also turn other fans against you who might not know the reasons behind it.
Jordan Henderson will face a protest from England fans if he plays against Ukraine (Valerio Pennicino - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)"That was why our position as a group is turning backs. [It] is done in a way that still respects the England team, but makes the point quite clearly that we don't have respect for Jordan anymore."
The Three Lions Pride group have also retired a banner featuring Henderson, which White does not believe "will ever come back into use". His move to Ettifaq led to a backlash at the time, with his interview with The Athletic on Tuesday fueling further anger, according to White.
"I think it will possibly be more angry in these fixtures because of the interview that has just been released. That has wound people up more. If it was done as damage limitation or trying to restore any semblance of understanding, it has done the opposite," White added.
"I don't know anyone in the group who hasn't said that they had to stop and read it in parts because they were getting so frustrated and angry with it. The issue with it is there are so many contradictions throughout what he's saying.
"It feels like he's trying to do some somersaulting now to almost work it out himself. It was a mixture of some of it didn't make sense, some of it was very naive on what he thinks. And some of it made the conversations we've had before with him really feel a lot less genuine.
The Three Lions Pride group are organising the protest against the Al-Ettifaq midfielder (Getty Images)"That is the bit that has hurt people more than anything else. It's diminished what he's previously done because his justifications of some of the things don't add up with what he's said before.
While the protest will go ahead this week, and at games in the Autumn if Henderson is selected for those internationals, the door is open for the midfielder to speak to Three Lions Pride about their concerns. That is something he has not yet chosen to do.
"Jordan is the perfect example that unless you're affected by these issues, you don't really understand or comprehend the full extent of how this impacts. He comments when told about our protest that he was 'very hurt'," White said.
"Well, in Saudi Arabia, LGBT+ people's feelings aren't just hurt, they can be killed. Our door, like with any England player at any level, is always open, as long as it's for a constructive conversation.
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"We're here to help. That's one of the purposes of the group. It's to help people understand why we exist, what we're here for and what people can do to help. Our message has been consistent.
"Even though we're criticising his move, our door is always open to discuss why to try to come up to a point of understanding. At no point have we had any conversation, even since doing Rainbow Laces, we haven't had any contact from him or his team."
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