Kevin de Bruyne caused quite the stir on Wednesday night when he turned his back on Belgium fans after they booed him and his teammates off the pitch following their disappointing draw with Ukraine in Stuttgart.
The result meant that Belgium qualified as runners-up from Group E at Euro 2024 and they now have a difficult round of 16 clash with France to look forward to.
While the boos were perhaps warranted after yet another subpar Belgium display at a major tournament, de Bruyne's response to them was to turn his back on the fans and urge all his teammates to go down the tunnel instead of acknowledging them.
Parts of the Belgium fanbase haven't reacted well to De Bruyne's decision but Belgium legend, Thomas Meunier, has defended his captain. Meunier, who has made two substitute appearances at the tournament so far, said:
“The advantage of Kevin is that he has no filter. He says what he thinks. I love such people. When he made the decision to go inside, the players followed. It was the right decision.”
Belgium legend slams boo boys
Meunier also wasn't shy when it came to sharing his opinion on the fans who decided to boo the Belgium players after the draw with Ukraine. The 32-year-old said:
“I think it was a bit too much because at the end of it all we qualified. It’s not like we were last in the group. We did our job. Ok, maybe we could have done it a bit better but we got what we wanted and that’s the most important.
Belgium fans booing their team off the pitch. De Bruyne tried to go over to applaud them, but the boos were so loud he told the rest of the team to forget it… 👊🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/2N5wgYLCSa
— Football Fights (@footbalIfights) June 26, 2024
“The reaction from the fans and the analysts was out of proportion. For the record, the players greeted the supporters. This group always plays to win. I have rarely seen so much enthusiasm in the group. Yes, the match was frustrating. But we are at a European Championship, you cannot win every game 3-0, 4-0.
“We wanted to greet the fans, but the problem started when they were whistling at Romelu. Nobody understood that; you don't whistle out your record international scorer.”
Belgium will have to put in their best performance ever at an international tournament if they are to overcome France on Monday evening. If they can do that, then they can expect a much warmer reception from their supporters after the final whistle.