Fans boo as England national anthem plays out with Lee Carsley sticking to his word
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Irish fans booed God Save The King as Lee Carsley stood on the sidelines mute before England took on the Republic of Ireland on Saturday afternoon.
The Three Lions have travelled to Dublin to take on the Republic of Ireland, who Carsley played for, in a Nations League clash.
But the build-up to the match has been dominated by the England interim coach's assertion that he would not sing God Save The King before kick-off, as is customary for players and coaches.
Carsley played 40 times for the Republic of Ireland during his playing career despite being born in Birmingham, qualifying through his grandmother.
Lee Carsley refused to sing the national anthem
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However, England fans were furious with their new coach while boos rang around the Aviva Stadium as he ignored the national anthem.
But the boos largely came from the Irish fans inside the ground, who tried to drown out God Save The King but failed as the travelling supporters sang louder.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the former midfielder was asked about his thoughts on the national anthem.
“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.
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"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.
READ MORE: Lee Carsley accused of 'losing the country' after refusing to sing national anthem
England fans were not happy
PA
"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.”
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Declan Rice and Jack Grealish both started the contest and were also booed by the Irish fans after they played for the national side only to realign their allegiance to England.
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