CAIRO: Middlesbrough coach Gareth Southgate defended Ahmed Hossam ‘Mido’ as he gestured to Newcastle fans to shut up after being subjected to terrorist chants.
The Egyptian international was taunted Mido, he’s got a bomb you know by the away fans during the 2-2 draw on Sunday and his gestures prompted a yellow card by the referee.
“It’s OK for 3,000 [people] to abuse one person. But when the boot is on the other foot, he gets punished, he was quoted as saying by The Sun.
“In terms of civil liberties, I find that very strange. After scoring the goal, we had to calm him down a bit.
This was Mido’s second goal in two appearances for Boro and his first on home pitch.
Southgate believes that Mido has already made his mark since arriving at the Riverside less than two weeks ago.
He s going to be a real hero with the fans because of his passion for the game, the Boro boss said.
He s had a big impact on the dressing room in a positive way.
The former England defender praised his players determination to fight back twice and earn a draw against the Magpies in the nervy north-east derby.
We showed great character, not just in coming back twice but also because we had players who probably shouldn t have been out there, he said.
We played really well because in a derby game sometimes it can be frantic and you don t put your foot on the ball.
