Everton striker Neal Maupay has spoken out after video footage emerged showing him arguing with club fans at Euston station. In ugly scenes, Maupay and his team-mates were verbally abused as they boarded the train back to Liverpool following their 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Saturday.
The brunt of the anger seemed to fall on 28-year-old Maupay, even though he had not even set foot on the pitch on Saturday.
As the French striker walked alongside a security guard, he was shouted at to get lost; defender Mason Holgate was also targeted.
Maupay responded to the shouts and appeared to return the compliment as he approached the train, which only made matters worse as one fan then loudly questioned his current salary.
The unsavory video has since spread like wildfire on social media, and on Sunday Maupay himself commented on the developments. And he did not hold back with his opinion about the club’s travelling fans.
“Imagine another job where it’s normal to be abused like this,” he posted on X. “Hanging around a train station and yelling at men who are doing their best…”
His post was followed by a statement from Everton fan group “A View From The Bullens”, which emphatically pointed out that the fans affected did not represent the majority.
“After a video of Everton fans verbally abusing the team circulated online this evening, we wanted to point out that this represented only a minority of fans,” they said.
“While we do not speak for everyone, we would like to believe that Everton fans will not tolerate this behaviour. Performances and results have not been as good as we would all have hoped, but our support for the players and staff will not wane.
“A frustrated fan base, but also a fan base that will support the team no matter how far it goes.”
On Sunday, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville expressed his sympathy for Everton fans after their second consecutive defeat left them bottom of the Premier League with a goal difference of -7.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville said: “Tens of thousands of Everton fans go to every game and are just getting down on the poor performance for many years. It’s really disappointing.”
Maupay spent last season on loan at Brentford and Saturday’s incident will now raise further question marks over his future, with manager Sean Dyche admitting he may be forced to sell more players this week to balance the books.
The atmosphere at Goodison Park could be tense this week as the club have two home games to play. The Toffees host Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and host Bournemouth on Saturday in the last game before the international break.
