Lee Carsley causes a stir as he explains his decision not to sing the England national anthem ahead of his first game in charge.
The England interim boss has never sung a national anthem – and isn’t about to start now, but despite this, it’s riled up some fans and reporters on social media and even made the front page on national newspapers.
Others however have come out and defended his decision, with many baffled as to why there is such anger. He’s an Irishman after all, if he can get a tune out of the players on the pitch, surely that’s all that matters?!
You can’t be England manager if you refuse to sing the national anthem. https://t.co/H5QY8DYXkk
— Dean M Thomson (@DeanMThomson) September 6, 2024
During his press conference, Carsley was asked if he will sing the English national anthem on Saturday, or the Irish anthem, he replied: “This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland. The gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done.
“I was always really focussed on the game and my first actions of the game. I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off. I was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching.
“We had the national anthem with the Under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point. I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game. I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”
Asked to confirm if he ever sings the anthem, Carsley added: “No (I don’t).
Carsley made his first appearance for first Ireland in 1997, having qualified through his grandmother who is from Dunmanway, County Cork.
On his early memories of playing for Ireland, he once said: “I remember enjoying the game, the playing of the national anthem and my family coming over and watching. Being in a new group, playing with new players was exciting times.”
Also with allegiances to both teams are Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, both previously representing Ireland before switching to England.
Lee Carsley has ‘no concerns’ about including Jack Grealish or Declan Rice in the England team against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin tomorrow night.
Grealish and Rice both represented Ireland early in their careers before switching allegiance.https://t.co/PAiZ4D1RJB pic.twitter.com/sMGXfX3Rnu
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 6, 2024
Asked if he has spoken to the pair about the reception they might get from fans, Carsley said: “No I’ve not spoken to them two individually. I spoke to the team about understanding the atmosphere. Not only the atmosphere, but the new (Ireland) coach, so we are still quite unsure on what to expect.
“I think if two players are prepared for it and everyone else isn’t, it’s going to be a bit of a shock but yeah we’ve spoken about what we think Ireland may do and the atmosphere and the tempo, and we will be ready for whatever we come up against.”
Harry Kane spoke about being another England player who qualified for Ireland, through his grandparents, but never once thought about potentially representing any other country apart from England.
He explains: “My dad was born in England and his mum and dad were born in Ireland, so my grandparents were Irish. But me being born in England I always thought England was and is my country.
“I am extremely respectful to Ireland and my grandparents who are no longer with us, but I still have family over there so I am extremely respectful of them and I am sure they are looking forward to seeing me play in Dublin.
“I don’t think it was ever on the radar. I would have to ask my dad for sure, he hasn’t told me about it if there was, but there might have been a few conversations when I was in the youth team that I didn’t know about. But I was focused on England and because I was in England teams from a young age there was no need to think about anything else.”
Regarding Rice and Grealish, Kane added: “I haven’t spoken to Dec and Jack. I think everyone has their path to their career and theirs was a small part with Ireland and the rest of it with England. So they are mature enough to deal with that and it’s going to be a tough game, the atmosphere will be tough.
“We are going into a place where we expect it to be a little bit hostile, but that is no different to a lot of away games we face. Everyone has a different path and for Dec and Jack it was just part of their footballing career so far.”
Ex-England boss Fabio Capello previously spoke about their decision not to sing the national anthem: “I won’t sing the national anthem because I feel it is wrong to sing another country’s anthem. I do get goosebumps when I hear it though.”
Sven Goran Eriksson, who died last month, described his first game in charge of England, saying: “I thought I knew a bit about cold, but I can say it was absolutely freezing at Villa Park. The national anthem is another. I’m not sure I ever entirely mastered ‘God Save the Queen’ but there I was, a Swede, standing in front of the bench and trying to sing it a bit.”
