Stan Collymore is furious with the England fans who booed Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez when he was substituted on in the Three Lions’ 7-0 win against Montenegro last week.
Gomez, 22, was involved in a training ground incident with Raheem Sterling on Monday, with the Manchester City star being kicked out of the England squad by manager Gareth Southgate as a result.
Sterling has since apologised and was clearly the aggressor in the incident, with Gomez, who was left with a scratch under his eye, being the victim.
However that did not stop boos from ringing out at Wembley on Thursday when Gomez came off the bench.
Collymore is disgusted by the response of those who booed the young defender.
“If you were one of those who booed Joe Gomez at Wembley on Thursday, you need to have a serious word with yourself,” Collymore wrote on the Mirror website.
“Some fans just can’t distinguish between right and wrong, and for Gomez to be turned on when we all know he was the victim rather than the aggressor in Monday’s clash with Raheem Sterling was disgraceful.
“It took me back to 2011, when Patrice Evra was booed by some supporters after being racially abused by Luis Suarez.
“It was utterly ridiculous and I hope at least some of those who jeered him have regretted doing so.”
OPINION
Collymore is right. Those who booed Gomez are idiots. Why should the incident have any bearing on what is happening at the stadium anyway? It’s all water under the bridge now and it’s not as if Sterling missing out on England duty for this international break has had any kind of negative impact on results or performances. England won both matches, scored 11 goals and did not concede as they sealed qualification for Euro 2020 with ease. What was so bizarre about the booing of Gomez was that it is so abundantly clear that he did nothing wrong. Is it just because he’s a Liverpool player? Or is it just that the stadium was packed with Manchester City supporters – although that is unlikely as they barely back the Etihad. Gomez did not deserve that and hopefully that doesn’t knock his confidence or anything because he is a player who needs to hit a good spell of form soon with him dropping down the pecking order at Anfield.
