2024 Euro Qualifier: LGBTQ Community set to stage protest against Jordan Henderson amid Ettifaq saga

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Jordan Henderson activated a drama sequence when he agreed to sign up with Al Ettifaq. Though the  £700,000-per-week contract made him the highest-paid British footballer ever, it brought with it a long-reaching backlash that might sack him from the English team if the coach, Gareth Southgate, left office.

Nobody is speaking evil against Southgate for including the seasoned player in the team at such a time, but there are fears the ripples of it could affect the whole team.  A member of the LGBTQ+ community that are preparing to stage a protest during the match has spoken the mind of the group. The Euro 2024 Qualifier match comes up in Ukraine today.

‘Having spoken to some of our members, there was a real sense of disappointment (after Henderson joined Al-Ettifaq). 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. 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. 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.’

Now Gareth Southgate has swiftly defended his decision to include the senior player in the team.

‘I don’t pick the team based on external reaction, but he’s a very experienced professional. He is very mature at handling any situation. He’s trained really well this week. His feeling towards that community hasn’t changed. I am sure all of our fans are going to get behind the team when the game starts. I am sure they will get behind Jordan when the game starts as well.’

One only has to hope the support he expects would come, since the cancelling of people in the West spread like wildfire. Jordan Henderson recently tried to prove to the community that he had not abandoned them, but his efforts seems to have been wasted.

‘When I hear stuff like, ‘You’ve turned your back on us,’ that hurts me. I do care,’ Henderson said. ‘I have family and friends in the LGBTQ+ community … I’m comfortable knowing exactly what I am and exactly what I stand for. But I get and I can accept not everyone’s going to get that. So that’s why I can only apologize to those people if they feel like that.’

This controversy might drive him from the team or cause factions in the English team.