Peter Crouch has recalled the time he received boos as an England player following the jeering received by Harry Maguire for the Three Lions on Tuesday night.
Maguire's name was heckled by fans at Wembley when the teams were read out ahead of England's friendly showdown with Ivory Coast. That was despite the fact that the Manchester United defender has been a key part of Gareth Southgate's side in recent years, helping them to the World Cup semi-finals and the European Championship final.
The booing of the Red Devils skipper has been condemned by a number of figures associated with England, including Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
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In his column for the Daily Mail, Crouch has revealed how the jeers he received when he entered the field as a Liverpool player representing England at Old Trafford ultimately left a stain on what should have been one of the biggest nights of his career.
"The boos that greeted me when coming on for Shaun Wright-Phillips against Poland in a World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford in October 2005 will stay with me for ever," he said. "I was a Liverpool player, so I knew there was an element of that, but there was also this stigma attached to me. Is he an England player? People openly said I wasn't good enough.
"We had Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Jermain Defoe. I didn't fit what an England striker was supposed to look like. That was the dynamic in the newspapers and on TV.
"Whether I fitted the mould of an international footballer was an underlying thing and that, rather than the Liverpool aspect, drove the derision at Old Trafford. Fans who didn't really know me - and dare I say maybe not overly knowledgeable about the game - were giving me grief. Even on the street."
Crouch spent three seasons with Liverpool before moving on to join Portsmouth in 2008. On the international stage he made 42 appearances for England, netting an impressive 22 goals for his country.
