Some England fans are already asking for interim manager Lee Carsley to be sacked even before he has taking charge of a single Three Lions game.
The shock requests come after Carsley admitted that he will not sing the English national anthem ahead of their Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland.
Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but represented the Republic of Ireland at senior international level, said: ‘This (singing the anthem) is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland.
‘The gap between your warm-up, you’re 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.’
Carsley’s decision has seemed to left the nation divided, with many Three Lions fans voicing their disgust over the admission, whilst others justified his reasoning.
Interim head coach Lee Carsley (middle) has admitted he won’t sing the England national anthem
Carsley, who was born in Birmingham represented the Republic of Ireland at senior international level
Carsley (second from left) admitted he has struggled to sing anthems before matches
Sky Sports and TalkSport presenter Jamie O’Hara took to the social media platform X to voice his opinion.
Poll
Is Lee Carsley wrong for refusing to sing England’s national anthem?
- Yes, he should be sacked 0 votes
- No, it doesn’t matter 0 votes
Revealing that he wasn’t too pleased with Carsley’s decision as he wrote: ‘What’s people take on carsley not wanting to sing the national anthem?
‘that to me is ok cya later then, you’ve just lost the entire nation before you’ve even kicked a ball, thanks for coming Lee’.
Another England fan had the same take on the matter as their post read ‘Sven Goran-Eriksson sung the national anthem and he wasn’t even from our country.
‘I don’t care if Lee Carsley played for Ireland, but if there’s a political reason you he won’t sing the national anthem then he should quit.’
Whilst another added ‘Lee Carsley .. an English born, England manager – refusing to sing the National Anthem. Oh dear, not a great start’.
Presenter Jamie O’Hara has stated that Carsley has ‘lost the entire nation’ before his team kick a ball
Others were quick to defend his decision however with one fan writing: ‘Lee Carsley is hired to manage England’s football team with smart selections, tactics and a dash of adventure.
‘He is not entered in ‘ The Masked Singer’. Nobody should care whether he belts out the national anthem if he gets a tune out of some gifted players.’
A second post shared on X read: ‘I don’t care if Lee Carsley sings the National Anthem or not as long as he gets a tune out of the England players.
‘Carsley, checks notes, a former international, didn’t sing GSTK with #ENG U21s and he certainly got a tune out of them. Great to watch – and European champions. ‘
A third X user added:
‘Lee Carsley never has never sung the national anthem because he feels too focused on the game. He hasn’t changed since becoming a coach.
‘Plenty players don’t sing it. If we hire Klopp, would you expect him to sing it? I don’t even know if Southgate sang it – honestly, who cares?’
Carsley has enjoyed major success with England’s youth setup, with the 50-year-old leading the England Under-21s to European glory last year.
He has been part of the Football Association’s coaching staff since 2015 and if his audition goes well against the Republic of Ireland and Finland this week he may just claim the coveted prize of being named as England’s next permanent manager.
Carsley continued to explain his reasoning for not singing the anthem
‘ 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.’