Harry Kane has expressed his disappointment in England's supporters after they booed Joe Gomez onto the pitch during their Euro 2020 qualifying win over Montenegro.
Gomez was in the headlines this week after an altercation with Raheem Sterling at St George's Park on Monday, which left him with a nasty scratch just below his right eye.
The two men were involved in a heated exchange on the pitch during Liverpool's 3-1 victory over Manchester City at Anfield last Sunday, with tensions transferring onto the international stage the next day.
Sterling, who took full responsibility for the incident, was dropped from Gareth Southgate's matchday squad to face Montenegro on Thursday night, but Gomez was introduced to the action as a second-half substitute.
The Liverpool defender was greeted by a smattering of boos from home supporters as he made his way onto the pitch, which overshadowed England's comprehensive 7-0 victory.
Sterling spoke out in support of Gomez on social media after the match, with Southgate left bemused by the actions of a select group of fans.
England captain Kane shares his manager's confusion and insists that no player should ever be subjected to booing, least of all a "great guy" like Gomez.
“I find it really confusing why he was booed,” Kane said. “I cannot quite figure it out. But I don’t think any player should be booed.
"I know how important club football is with City and Liverpool and all clubs. But at international level, we are all England fans and the bottom line is that Joe is a great guy.”
England booked their spot at next summer's European Championships with their latest win and will conclude their qualifying campaign away at Kosovo on Sunday.
Ahead of that encounter, Kane has urged supporters to refrain from heckling Gomez or Sterling, while praising Jordan Henderson for helping him deal with the situation.
“In life, in football, as one of the leaders, stuff happens and you have to adapt and control the situation and me and the gaffer and Hendo – who was involved even though he was not there – I think we handled it as well as we could have,” he added.
Kane moved up to sixth in England's all-time highest scorer's list after netting a hat-trick against Montenegro, which puts him within 23 goals of Wayne Rooney's record.
The 26-year-old also became England's all-time highest scoring starting captain, earning special praise from Southgate, who described the striker as "ruthless".
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