Maguire mocked in African parliament

Harry Maguire has been cruelly mocked in the parliament of Ghana during a debate about the country’s budget for next year.

The African nation’s economic policies were compared to the England defender’s form for Manchester United, with one member of parliament provoking laughter by caricaturing the 29-year-old as a player who tackled his team-mates and scored own goals.

Isaac Adongo, aligned to the opposition National Democratic

Congress party, went on to brand Ghana’s vice-president, Mahamudu Bawumia, the “economic Maguire”.

Referencing the World Cup, at which Ghana beat South Korea 3-2 on Monday, he said: “I was happy to see the other day the jubilation when Ghana won. But there was a player in the United Kingdom, in England, called Maguire, who was playing for Manchester United.

“Harry Maguire, he’s a defender. He was tackling everybody, throwing his body everywhere, and he was seen as the best defender in the world. Manchester United went and bought him. He became the biggest threat at the centre of the Manchester United defence, tackling Manchester players and giving assists to opponents. Mr Speaker, when even the opponents fail to score, Maguire will score for them.

“Mr Speaker, in this country, we also have an economic Maguire. Mr Speaker, when we gave this Maguire the opportunity to be at the centre of our defence, he became the risk of our own goal.”

Adongo’s jibes about Maguire appear ill-timed given the defender’s fine performances in Qatar, which have silenced many of his critics.