GARETH Southgate has hit out at the behaviour of Newcastle's travelling fans after yesterday's 2-2 draw at the Riverside was blighted by anti-Islamic terrorist taunts directed at Middlesbrough striker, Mido.

The Egyptian, who scored Boro's opening goal shortly before the half-hour mark, was subjected to a torrent of abuse that included the chant, "Mido, he's got a bomb, you know".

Clearly aware of the taunts, which also included songs of a personal nature, Mido was booked for putting his finger to his lips as he celebrated his second strike in a Middlesbrough shirt in front of the visiting supporters.

And Southgate has hit out at a system that punishes the act of an individual while ignoring the abuse being hurled by a travelling cast of thousands.

"We obviously had to get Mido to calm down a bit in the first half, especially when he got booked after the goal," said the Boro boss.

"But I always find it strange that 3,000 people are allowed to abuse one person and nothing is done, and then when the boot is on the other foot, he gets into trouble. In terms of civil liberties, I find that a strange situation really."

Mido was the subject of similar taunts during his time at Tottenham, with West Ham fans once comparing him to failed shoe bomber Richard Reid.

Yesterday's repeat display overshadowed an otherwise enthralling Tees-Tyne derby in which Mark Viduka made a goalscoring return to the Riverside less than three months after turning down the offer of an improved contract on Teesside.

Southgate admitted that Viduka's close-range effort was easy to predict, but insisted that the Australian's departure had enabled him to construct a new-look forward line that would drive the club forward this season.

"I thought his goal was inevitable," he said. "In the build-up to the goal, I thought it was the first time that we hadn't been right up against him.

"It was typical of Mark Viduka. We know he has great quality and great strength, and we loved having him here. He's not with us any longer, though, and I thought that the players we had playing for us gave absolutely everything.

"That chapter is closed. Mido is the future now, along with the other players that we've brought in, and he's already been a talisman for us.

"He's scored two in two, which is the perfect start for any striker, but he's also been a real presence in the dressing room and got the rest of the lads firing."

Viduka adhered to his pre-match pledge not to celebrate his goal, even though he had been roundly booed by the Middlesbrough supporters throughout the game.

"I think he's very grateful for the way that he was treated here," said Southgate. "Of course when he joined Newcastle, it was a kick in the teeth for the fans, and I think that's why he got the reaction that he did.

"They remember the good things that he did as well. We certainly do, we loved having him here and we could have done without that today, but we got a point and that was probably a fair result."

Southgate reserved particular praise for Jonathan Woodgate. The former Newcastle centre-half, who made his first start of the season after recovering from a knee injury, would not have been involved had Chris Riggott and Andrew Davies not picked up problems in the build-up to the game.

"Jonathan hasn't had a 90-minute game in pre-season, he's just been running and running," he explained. "He had a migraine (on Saturday) and there was no intention to play him.

"But we lost Chris and Andrew and he was up for the challenge. It was fantastic for me, as a manager, to see that sort of commitment."