Jordan Henderson’s presence in Saudi Arabia could be “more harmful” to the local LGBTQ+ community, according to a leading gay rights group.
The England midfielder has said in his first interview since his £12million move to Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq that he has been hurt by the criticism he has received and that his views have not changed.
The former Liverpool captain had been a high-profile supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and has apologised for any hurt he has caused by moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal.
But co-chair of Pride in Football and the co-founder of Three Lions Pride Joe White said Henderson’s latest comments have not helped mend relations.
White told the PA news agency: “His presence could actually be more harmful to local LGBT people if he does speak out because the people who do get impacted on aren’t high-profile footballers, they’re your standard LGBT people who will then get the backlash.
“We saw in Qatar (at last year’s World Cup). It’s fine to say you support these things, but actually there was no action. Nothing changed. There was a horrendous atmosphere on the ground in Qatar for LGBT people.
“Nothing changed. It was actually more amplified in negativity.”
Henderson said he would not rule out wearing the rainbow laces in future, but had to be respectful of the religion and culture of the country he was now living in.
White said: “It feels like it’s a way of him trying to rebuild his image and nothing he’s said is either convincing or makes any kind of difference. It just re-establishes the disappointment.
“It feels very much like a ‘saviour complex’ and it’s just frustrating that at no point has he spoken to LGBT people or LGBT Saudis. Has he thought of the wider impact?
“He talks about not being a politician. You don’t need to be a politician to learn, consult and be fully informed on the impact of a decision that you’re going to make.”
Henderson said in an interview with The Athletic that his decision to move to Saudi Arabia would help highlight the problems faced by the gay community and help bring about change.
But White said: “What has he done? He’s done nothing. Nothing he’s done since he’s been there has been positive for the LGBT community. He has no power or influence in a country run in the way Saudi Arabia is.”
White also urged Henderson not to promote the gay rights movement by wearing the rainbow laces during Saudi Pro League matches.
He said: “What would the impact be on local LGBT people? If it’s going to cause a backlash and harm to them, do not do it.
“It’s the same thing we said about Qatar and what’s the reason for him doing it? He’s shown he’s not an ally in the choices he’s made. Actions speak louder than words.
“If he’s doing it just to try and regain some form of respect, it’s not going to work.”
White said that while individual Pride in Football members would not want to engage with Henderson, “the door is always open”.
“But that’s not one for us to chase with Jordan and his team,” White added. “It’s for him to decide that he wants to and he can get in contact with us whenever he wants.”
Liverpool’s LGBT+ fans group Kop Outs! were equally unimpressed by Henderson’s interview.
It posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “No acceptance by Henderson of his role in sportswashing, trying to disguise the disgusting Saudi human rights record.
“This sounds more like an attempt to rebuild his ‘brand’, sorry isn’t good enough @JHenderson, actions speak louder than words.”
Van Dijk hails Hungary 'strength' for playing on after coach collapse
Virgil van Dijk saluted Hungary for playing on after assistant coach Adam Szalai appeared to suffer a fit during their Nations League clash.
Play was suspended for 13 minutes at the Johan Cruijff ArenA while Szalai was treated pitchside, with staff and substitutes forming a protective barrier around him.
The 36-year-old was taken to Amsterdam Hospital, where he later revealed he was "doing well" on his social media channels.
Although Hungary agreed to play on, the Netherlands ran out comfortable 4-0 winners to book their place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo were on target from the penalty spot during the first half, while goals from Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners after the break saw the Oranje secure second place in Group A3.
And Van Dijk paid tribute to his side's opponents.
"That was quite a shock, of course," he told NOS. "You see someone lying down, you see someone shaking. That is quite scary. But thankfully, at a certain point, it became clear that he was stable. I hope he is doing well and that he recovers quickly.
"They had to decide whether they wanted to continue playing. I think it shows a lot of strength that they did carry on. I have a lot of respect for that."
On his side's performance, Van Dijk added: "The pitch was very fast, but that's no excuse. It was sloppy.
"In the end, we won deservedly and that's the most important thing. We go to the quarter-finals, we win, we keep a clean sheet."
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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