Why didn’t Harry have security with him?

WHY has someone as famous as Harry Maguire, the captain of Manchester United, not got any security with him when he travels abroad?

This isn’t something new. It’s always happened. When you are playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, no matter where you go, you are always going to get some idiots who want to have a pop.

I learned the hard way when I was coming through at Liverpool. I was still frequenting the same places I had always done and ended up having a few altercations. I realised, especially when travelling abroad, that I was getting more well-known and needed to have security with me.

My uncle was an experienced doorman for 30 years and he would come on the lads’ holidays with me. There would never be any trouble. He would sort out any problems before that happened and, if we needed telling, he would keep us in check.

What baffles me is why these lads are not learning.

So far in his professional career, Maguire has been someone who has conducted himself very well. He has not got a catalogue of incidents behind him. He is a quiet lad by all accounts, not someone who surrounds himself with trouble-makers. We need to know the full details before we pass judgement, but if your family or loved ones, whether your sister or your girlfriend, have been put in danger then you are going to react. If that did happen, then I don’t think the majority will turn against him.

Hopefully, this will be a harsh lesson for him, he learns from it and nothing like this happens again.

If I was in the hierarchy at Premier League clubs, I would make sure players did not go abroad without security with them.

I have seen people questioning his United career after this. Come on. Eric Cantona came back from kung-fu kicking a supporter!

If I were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Gareth Southgate, you need to have a very honest conversation with Maguire. You need to know exactly what has happened.

Southgate has shown in the past that he will be tough on players who step out of line and do not show the kind of behaviour he expects of England internationals.

If it transpires that Maguire is guilty, then Southgate has got a difficult problem and may have to leave him out for a few games. Gareth should be setting the right example.

It is fortunate for Maguire in that sense that the Euros are still so far away.

We need know the details before we condemn him. But I don’t imagine he will be going abroad without some security again any time soon.