Caretaker England boss Lee Carsley stood in respectful silence as his players sang God Save the King ahead of their Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
The 50-year-old former Ireland midfielder had indicated in advance that he would not join in with the national anthem – as has been his practice throughout his career – as he took charge of his first game in the wake of Gareth Southgate’s departure.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said ahead of the match that, while he would sing the anthem, it should be a personal decision for Carsley and for any individual.
Carsley was in good company as Ireland’s Icelandic manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, also in the dugout for the first time following his appointment as Stephen Kenny’s successor in July, did not sing the Irish anthem, Amhran na bhFiann.
All the England players appeared to sing along amid raucous boos from the home fans, while many of the 2,981 travelling supporters chanted throughout the Irish anthem.
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Speaking during the build-up to the game, Carsley explained his reasons for not singing.
He said: “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 focused 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.”
During his first official visit to Dublin, which Starmer said is a “moment for reset” of relations between the UK and Ireland, the Prime Minister was asked for his views on the issue.
Starmer said: “I will sing the national anthem and we are having a fantastic reset of relations between Ireland and the UK, but the Taoiseach and I have already agreed that for 90 minutes we will suspend the reset and put more energy into it afterwards because we will be cheering on different sides.
“So I will be singing the national anthem. What others do is really a matter for them.”
Asked then if he was not concerned about Carsley’s choice, the Prime Minister added: “I know what I will be doing and I will be singing it.
“I won’t just be singing it, I will be cheering the team on.”
Some critics had gone as far as calling for Carsley to be sacked should he refuse to sing God Save the King in Dublin, while a campaign group has called for the UK to select a new national anthem and given the interim England boss its backing.
Campaign group Republic, which wants the monarchy abolished and replaced by an elected head of state, said the furore over the 50-year-old’s admission is evidence the UK needs to ditch the current national anthem.
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“Carsley has every right to not sing the anthem. But this is a timely reminder that we need a new anthem, one that speaks for everyone, that is about country and the people, not king and God,” the group said in a statement.
“We are a free country and freedom of speech includes freedom not to revere a king.
“We should be able to raise the roof singing our national anthem, we should not be put in a position where that conflicts with profoundly held beliefs.
“Whatever Carsley’s reasons, he should have the support of every democrat and everyone concerned about freedom of speech.”
Carsley had initially headed for the wrong bench after emerging from the tunnel before his players, and there was a minor disruption when a man in full England kit managed to find his way on to the pitch and stand next to Anthony Gordon as the teams lined up to be presented to Irish President Michael D Higgins.
Earlier, the England bus arrived at the Aviva Stadium some 90 minutes before kick-off and there was a smattering of boos from the few spectators inside for midfielder Declan Rice, who played three times for Ireland before switching allegiance, as he and his team-mates took a look at the pitch shortly afterwards.
Carsley joined his players to little fanfare and chatted to Jack Grealish, who represented the Republic at under-21 level but then opted to play for England, before heading back to the dressing room to finalise his preparations.
There were loud jeers from the home fans for Rice, Grealish and Carsley when the teams were announced and further boos when the England fans started to make their presence felt, and the game eventually got under way amid a cacophony of noise.
Rice scored in the 11th minute to put England ahead, the Arsenal player pointedly not celebrating the goal. Grealish was more animated after doubling the lead 15 minutes later.
