Former Premier League star and Match of the Day pundit Troy Deeney has controversially downplayed the vile abuse directed towards Phil Foden during Sunday’s Manchester derby.
Several Manchester United supporters disgracefully targeted the Man City star with sick chants about his mother during the limp 0-0 draw, before he was substituted in the 58th minute at Old Trafford.
Foden’s mother Claire Rowlands, 44, was labelled a ‘s**g’ by a sizeable section of the home support — which prompted the England international to react a series of sarcastic gestures during the game.
In a video shared to social media platform TikTok on Sunday, Foden was captured ironically clapping the supporters and giving them a thumbs up while inside Manchester United’s penalty area, before defiantly gesturing for them to continue.
After the match, the footballer took to Instagram to deliver a three-word message – ‘we keep going’ – as he refused to get dragged in to the shocking abuse.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told United fans they should be ‘ashamed’ of themselves for targeting Foden, while City are understood to be shocked and disgusted by how many Red Devils supporters were involved.
Ex-Premier League star and Match of the Day pundit Troy Deeney (above) has controversially downplayed the vile abuse directed towards Phil Foden during Sunday’s Manchester derby
Foden reacted to Man United fans after they targeted him with abusive chants on Sunday
Claire Rowlands, 44, is pictured alongside her son as he signs a contract in December 2018
But Deeney, who regularly works as a pundit on BBC’s flagship football show Match of the Day and was on MOTD2 with Mark Chapman and Shay Given on Sunday night, sensationally appeared to defend the Manchester United fans who abused Foden, claiming it is merely ‘part of football’.
Urging that the abusive chants have been blown out of proportion, the former Watford star said on talkSPORT: ‘[It is] part of the game, unfortunately.
‘It is what it is, I’ve heard people say things about my kids, wife… you name it.
‘Look, I take Pep’s point – it is a reflection on society…. everyone’s relatively glass houses they like to look out and point and say, “you’re rubbish, this and that”.
‘But I also think as well, it’s a derby, people are emotional… you talk about someone’s mum so you never want it to be that.
‘It’s just part of football. This, in my opinion, is a bigger story than it needs to be.
‘Watching the game, I didn’t hear it. [On] Match of the day we didn’t do anything on it, unfortunately, it’s the ugly side of this football game.
‘There’s an old saying many many years ago that Gianfranco Zola told me and it was “We’re paid to have no feelings”.’
Deeney appeared as a pundit on Match of the Day 2 with Mark Chapman (centre) and Shay Given (left) just hours after the limp 0-0 stalemate between Man United and Man City
Pep Guardiola (left) told Manchester United fans they should be ‘ashamed’ of themselves
The Manchester City and England midfielder has previously posted on Instagram to credit his parents Phil Snr and mother Claire (pictured with him) for his success in the game
His comments differed entirely to the view of Guardiola, who leapt to the defence of his star man following the horrendous scenes at Old Trafford.
‘It’s a lack of class,’ said the Spaniard after Sunday’s game. ‘But it’s not United, it’s the people, you know? We are so exposed, people who are on the screen in world football: managers, owners, and football players especially.
‘Honestly, I don’t understand the mind of the people involving the mum of Phil. It’s a lack of integrity, class, and they should be ashamed.’
The City boss, however, rejected any suggestions Foden is low on confidence and has backed him to discover the form that has helped lead his side to six league titles.
‘When the team is not playing at the level that we had, it looks like everyone is not what they were,’ the Spaniard added. ‘I see the passion and smile on his face every day in training and that is what I want.
‘You see the numbers of players who have been four, five, six years. This year we drop and it’s all of them – that’s why we are struggling to win but the quality is there.
‘He won the Premier League in the last games (last year), in the game against West Ham with two goals. His impact was incredible and he will be back.’
Despite Guardiola’s fury, the FA won’t take any action over the abusive chants aimed at Foden’s mother during the derby.
Foden with mother Claire (right) and girlfriend Rebecca Cooke (in red) at the 2022 World Cup
The City star pictured with Cooke and his social media star son Ronnie at the 2024 PFA Awards
The reigning PFA Players’ Player of the Year celebrates winning a fourth successive title for Manchester City with his family (Rowlands pictured far left with Cooke alongside her)
Although the FA are aware of the abuse and condemn the behaviour of United supporters in Sunday’s goalless draw, Mail Sport understands that it doesn’t breach their regulations.
The FA have cracked down on tragedy chanting and discriminatory behaviour such as homophobic or racist abuse in recent years, and rule E20.1 states that clubs must ensure that their ‘directors, players, officials, employees, servants and representatives do not behave in a way which is improper, offensive, violent, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting or provocative’.
However, it’s understood that this would not apply to the chants aimed at Foden and his family by United fans.
United sources said they condemn abusive chants against all players.
Deeney himself was subjected to a torrent of abhorrent abuse during his playing career, having played most prominently for Watford in the Premier League.
The English forward, who made over 400 appearances for the Hornets during an 11-year spell at Vicarage Road, moved to Birmingham City in 2021 and later Forest Green Rovers in 2023.
Last January, during his short stint as Forest Green Rovers manager, Deeney opened up on the horrific racist abuse he received from football fans after ranting about their being ‘too many babies’ in his squad.
The 36-year-old, who later apologised for his comment and admitted emotions got the better of him, shared a message he received on Instagram from a fan, which read read: ‘Dumb n****, f***** idiot shut ya mouth kiddddd’.
Deeney himself has been subjected to a torrent of disgusting abuse during his time in football
The former Watford star made over 400 appearances during a fruitful 11-year stint for the club
Foden was unable to impact the Manchester derby, which ended as a limp 0-0 stalemate
As part of his Instagram story where he shared the messaged, Deeney simply responded: ‘Here we go again’.
The pundit has also been forced to deal with nasty comments about his appearance over the years — but it was shocking remarks made in reference to his son that forced Deeney to speak out against abuse in 2020.
While Deeney was Watford captain, the former forward was forced to read sick messages wishing his baby son caught coronavirus during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deeney was concerned of potentially passing the virus on to his five-month-old son, who had breathing difficulties, after Premier League clubs returned to training during lockdown.
‘I saw some comments in regards to my son, people saying: “I hope your son gets corona,”‘ Deeney told CNN Sport in 2020. ‘That’s the hard part for me. If you respond to that, people then go: “Ah, we’ve got him” and they keep doing it.
‘In a time where it’s all about mental health and everyone says “speak up, speak out, please speak”, Danny Rose spoke out and I spoke out and we just get absolutely hammered and battered for it.
‘So people see that and go “woah” and it’s not just us that gets it, the missus gets direct messages and you’ll be walking down the street and people will be like: “Oh, I’m at work, you go back to work”.’
Foden’s mother has been in the public eye on a handful of occasions in recent years. In January 2024, footage was released of her being put in handcuffs and thrown out of a Welsh nightclub after knocking a hat from a fellow partygoer’s head.
The 36-year-old revealed he had been sent racist abuse on social media in January of last year
Deeney said, ‘Here we go again,’ after sharing the vile racist post sent to him on Instagram
The incident, which occurred at a Bentley’s nightclub in Towyn, Wales, took place on September 9 2023, just hours after Foden came off the bench to play for England in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
The 52-second clip, shown in court, showed Rowlands aggressively confronting police officers who were called to the scene.
Challenging the officers, she said: ‘Go on then, what’ve I done? Don’t come into my face unless you’ve got evidence.’
Another friend said, ‘No, she’s coming home with me’, as officers replied, ‘She’s staying with us for a minute.’
Rowlands was cleared of assault and but fined for her behaviour after she admitted to police: ‘I do not drink often but when I do, I make up for time. I am like an animal.’
She said: ‘I was drunk. It was just a bit of fun, a bit of banter. I just could not believe it, that I could get into trouble for knocking someone’s cap off. It’s my party trick, knocking someone’s cap off and putting it back on.
‘I did not mean him any harm or to hurt him and you can see that on the video. It was just a bit of banter which has been taken the wrong way.’
Rowlands also made headlines late last year after upsetting her neighbours by holding a ‘deafening two-hour fireworks party’ in the back garden of her house in leafy Cheshire.
Residents in the upmarket lane in Prestbury had to calm terrified pets and infants when the ‘display-standard’ pyrotechnics began and claimed they were given no warning by Rowlands of the event which lasted from 6pm until 8.30pm on a week night in November.
Foden’s mother Claire made headlines last year after being kicked out of a nightclub in Conwy
She was removed from the bar after showing off her ‘party trick’ of flicking a man’s hat off
Rowlands, who lives in this £3.5million property in upmarket Prestbury, Cheshire, irritated neighbours in November after staging a two-hour ‘Disneyland-style’ fireworks display
One, who lives close by, said: ‘It must have cost thousands.
‘They wouldn’t have looked out of place at the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Sydney Harbour Bridge or at Disneyland!
‘Not that the neighbours were impressed. Most were concerned about their pets.’
Rowlands was also shockingly attacked backstage when she attended Amir Khan’s boxing fight against Kell Brook alongside Foden in 2022.
Social media footage showed an assailant punching Foden’s mother backstage after the City star had been harassed and verbally abused in a corridor at Manchester’s AO Arena.
Foden was subjected to a string of obscenities, including a homophobic slur, and was led back to the family’s private lounge.
The incident escalated, leading to Rowlands being shockingly hit in the face. Another member of Foden’s group later picked up a fire extinguisher as they attempted to defend the player.
Foden credits his mother and father for his meteoric rise in football, where he burst onto the scene as a teenager before being taken under Pep Guardiola’s wing at City.
Foden, pictured with his family on Instagram, credits his mother for his meteoric rise in football
Towards the end 2017, just a year after Foden had broken through at City, the young midfielder thanked his mother Claire and Manchester United-supporting father Phil Foden Sr. for the support they gave him during his journey into football.
‘Family,’ the touching message on Instagram read. ‘Thank you to my mum and Dad who have made all this possible.’
