‘Betrayed’ - Liverpool legend Jordan Henderson slammed after controversial Al-Ettifaq announcement video

More controversy has emerged surrounding now former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia.

Henderson has completed his move to Steven Gerrard’s Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq for £12million. The Liverpool legend decided to leave the club after 12 years to bag his payday in the Middle East. The midfielder’s move has been embroiled in controversy, given Henderson has declared himself an ally of the LGBTQ+ community in the past.

The England star has offered his support to the community, regularly wearing the rainbow armband to remind people of his support.

But Henderson seems to have forgotten that allyship by making the move to Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal. That has meant criticism for the midfielder, even if many Liverpool fans will be sending him their best wishes given the tremendous servant he was during his time at Anfield.

We are yet to hear from henderson on the issue, but he quickly got a reminder of his new home country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights during his announcement. In their announcement video, Al-Ettifaq posted clips of Henderson in action, which were all in colour apart from a small rectangular patch, which is in black and white.

That black and white patch covers Henderson’s armband in various clips and photos, ensuring the rainbow armand - which is used to support LGBTQ+ rights - is not seen in colour. The move is clearly a deliberate one given the rest of the images are in colour, while that small square only covers the armband when there is a rainbow armband, with non-rainbow captains armbands in full colour.

One fan replied on Twitter: “Scared of a rainbow armband or something?”. Another wrote: “Betrayed the LGBTQ+ community. Good riddance.” Many fans also posted images of the rainbow armband in full colour, with others filling the replies with the rainbow flag.