"Should be ashamed"

Scandal! Team boss and goalscorer outrage England

Declan Rice did not celebrate his goal - coach Lee Carsley did not sing along to the anthem.

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Uproar over England's interim coach Lee Carsley! Gareth Southgate's replacement did not sing along to the national anthem during the 2:0 win against Ireland. What's more: Declan Rice did not join in the goal celebration!

One man, one word! England's interim team manager Lee Carsley had already announced before the game that he would not sing during the national anthem. And so it happened on his debut against Ireland - the scandal was perfect.

Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but played 40 times for Ireland in the senior national team, remained silent during "God Save the King" and the fans were outraged by the behavior of the 50-year-old, who has been coach of England's U21s for three years. "What the hell does he think he's doing?" or "he "should be ashamed of himself" were the more harmless comments on social media.

"I respect both national anthems"
The coach, who took over from the retired Gareth Southgate, defended his decision, saying it made him "no less committed" and insisted the furore over his decision had not ruined the proudest day of his career. "It hasn't affected my preparations, I fully respect people's opinions. I've never done the singing, but I fully respect both national anthems," Carsley said after the 2-0 win in Dublin. Declan Rice made it 1-0 in the 11th minute and Jack Grealish, who was not nominated for the EURO, made it 2-0 a quarter of an hour later. Like Carsley, both goalscorers played for Ireland when they were young.

There were protests in the Dublin stadium as a result. A fan banner showed the faces of Rice and Grealish next to the words: "The snakes are back." Carsley will be in charge of the Three Lions in the Nations League games against Ireland and Finland and, according to the association, could remain coach in the fall until a solution is found.

Rice: "It would have been really disrespectful"
Rice had infuriated the fans by not celebrating the goal after scoring to make it 1-0. He also explained the reason after the game. 

Declan Rice

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

"It would have been really disrespectful of me to celebrate," he said on Sky Sports News after the win. "My grandma and grandad, my dad's family are all Irish and they've all passed away. That's why I didn't want to do it, to be honest. I had such a great time playing for Ireland, even in the first team, U19s and U21s, those were great memories that I'll never forget."