Jill Scott: I'm a Jordan Henderson fan, but I wouldn't be welcome to watch him in Saudi Arabia
The former Lionesses midfielder has lamented her fellow Sunderland native's move to Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League
Former England midfielder Jill Scott has lamented Jordan Henderson's decision to move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq.
Henderson has been heavily criticised after swapping Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League, having previously been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.
Scott, who is gay, spoke about Henderson during her role as pundit for Channel 4 in their coverage of England's Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday evening.
"In terms of the morals and values, I'm a really big jordan Henderson fan," she said. "He's a Sunderland lad and really hard-working.
"But for me, the fact that I couldn't go and watch him represent his team, that doesn't sit well with me.
"Football for me is for everyone and the fact that I don't feel like I would be welcome [to watch him play], that's a very sad situation."
Henderson, who had pledged his support to the LGBTQ+ community by wearing rainbow laces and a rainbow captain's armband, spoke last week about the criticism he has received.
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"I think having someone with those views and values in Saudi Arabia is only a positive thing," he told The Athletic.
"Not once have they said: 'You can do this, you can’t do this'. And I think it can only be a positive thing to try to open up like around Qatar. In the end, around Qatar, having a World Cup there shined a light on certain issues where I think in the end, I might be wrong, but they changed some rules and regulations to be able to host the World Cup and I think that’s positive.
"That's the way you try to create positive change. And I'm not saying that I can do that. I’m one person."
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.