Lee Carsley refuses to sing anthem before Ireland v England match

Lee Carsley kept his promise to remain silent during the national anthem as England’s Irish team secured their first win as caretaker manager against the Republic of Ireland, a day he described as one of the proudest of his career.

Declan Rice, who played for Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in 2018, and Jack Grealish, the former Ireland Under-21 player of the year, scored the goals to secure a 2-0 victory for England and Carsley, who made 40 appearances for the Republic as a player.

Grealish celebrated his goal in front of the England fans, while he and Rice were booed by the home fans throughout the match.

Carsley also received some boos from the Irish fans but did not deviate from his decision not to sing the England national anthem, something he did not do as Under-21 manager, having not sung the Irish anthem as a player.

Of the debate surrounding his decision, Carsley said: “It certainly hasn’t affected my day of preparation, I found out this morning. I totally respect people’s opinions. It’s something I’ve never done but I totally respect both national anthems.”

“Today would be one of the proudest days of my career to lead an England team in Dublin. You certainly couldn’t have written it. I don’t feel slighted or cheated.

“I’ve played on teams where the players sang the anthem next to me, but I’ve also played on teams where the players or coaches didn’t sing. I don’t think that makes me, or anyone who doesn’t sing, any less committed.

“I was looking forward to this game. I saw the draw a while ago and I thought it would be a really good game. Two weeks ago I realised I was going to take the team to Dublin, I knew it would be a good experience.”

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Although Carsley has been criticised, his decision not to sing the anthem will not jeopardise his chances of landing the permanent England job. It is understood the FA were aware of the situation before his comments and accepted it.

Carsley, or any future England manager, will not be asked to sing the anthem and Sarina Wiegman, the England women’s manager who is Dutch, does not sing it.

Asked whether the anthem debate had dampened his enthusiasm for the job, Carsley said: “I totally respect people’s opinions. I would never judge anyone for singing or not singing. I had a great experience playing for the Republic of Ireland and I have a really great experience now in terms of the responsibility I have as head coach of the senior team. You probably have to accept that there is a certain amount of judgement that comes with that. I don’t feel slighted, I respect everyone’s opinion and we move on.”

Carsley accidentally sat on the bench when he first came off at the Aviva Stadium and said: “I went down the tunnel and turned right. As you know, I’ve spent a lot of time on the bench so I know exactly where it is. I didn’t realise it and it was quickly sorted out.”

Although he did not sing the anthem, Carsley celebrated England’s goals and applauded in front of the visiting fans at the Aviva Stadium after the final whistle.

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As well as scoring, Rice also set up Grealish’s goal, who said both players were expecting the warm reception they received.

“It’s what Declan and I expected,” Grealish said. “We’ve got nothing negative to say, we’ve both enjoyed our time (playing for Ireland) – I certainly have and I’ve got a lot of Irish people in my family so there’s no hard feelings from my side.

“To go up to the fans at the end and hear them chanting my name, listen, there’s no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.”

Grealish’s performance and goal was also the perfect response to being left out of England’s European Championship squad and the Manchester City star added: “This summer was one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t not see everything that’s happening in front of you. It was tough but it gave me something to bounce back from.”

“I have to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that’s what I did today. I’m not 100% yet, but I’m getting there so from a personal point of view, I’m happy.”

Asked about his feelings on the win and his goal, Rice said: “It was really good. It was the manager’s first game and we won. To score alongside Jack was a really nice feeling as well.”

“This week has been really refreshing. It’s been great working with Lee, his meetings have been great and training has gone really well. It’s been a fresh start, a change and to win for him today and for ourselves was the most important thing.”

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