Duo blast Cole boo-boys

Cole: Victim of boo-boys

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Frank Lampard and David Beckham have jumped to the defence of Ashley Cole after he was targeted by the boo-boys during England's 5-1 win over Kazakhstan.

Full-back Cole was jeered every time he touched the ball after his mistake led to the Kazakhstan goal midway through the second half.

The reaction of the fans upset a number of players and the Football Association also hit out of the jeering of Cole.

Lampard, who has been a regular victim of the England boo-boys, has defended Cole and has described him as the best 'left-back in the world.'

"The booing is a negative because I think Ashley Cole is the best left-back in the world and I am fortunate enough to play every week alongside him at Chelsea," said Lampard.

Mistakes

"There was some booing but I think there was reaction as well from people who tried to clap him and help him get over that.

"In general the fans were very good, from the start, even at half-time when we came off at nil-nil, and they kept behind us."

Beckham, who equalled Bobby Charlton's tally of 106 caps against Kazakhstan, was also disappointed that some fans had singled out Cole.

"Of course there are mistakes in football and you definitely don't want to hear the fans boo a player like that, especially when you are at home," said Beckham.

"It's disappointing as the majority of fans were great during the game and it's incredible to have almost 90,000 in the stadium. But when you hear that aimed at one of the best left-backs not just in Europe, but in the world, It's just not right."

Not stupid

England coach Stuart Pearce believes that the majority of fans inside Wembley were keen to show their support for Cole and applauding the defender after he became the target for the boo-boys.

Pearce told Sky Sports News: "It was overwhelming, after maybe two minutes of some people booing every time Ashley got the ball, the amount of supporters who started clapping him.

"Their mentality was 'we're not going to accept that from you booing this player, because it's not on'. It took a couple of minutes and a couple of booing sessions, and all of a sudden the majority of the supporters started clapping Ashley Cole, and rightly so.

"That was the message that resounded out of Wembley for me. The fact that fellow supporters didn't get washed along with one or two. They said 'no, we're not going to accept that, we're not stupid people, we're going to support our team'. And that was the pleasing thing."