England manager Lee Carsley will not join his players in singing the national anthem ahead of tonight’s Nations League clash against Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Carsley, succeeding Gareth Southgate on an interim basis, is a former Ireland international himself, representing the Boys in Green 40 times.
While proud of his Irish heritage, his reasoning for not singing ‘God Save the King’ – or Ireland’s Amhrán na bhFiann during his playing days – is a simple one.
‘This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,’ said Carsley. ‘The gap between your warm up, you 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.
‘I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.’
The former midfielder is not alone in forgoing the pre-match ritual.
Gary Neville
Gary Neville refused to join in with ‘God Save the Queen’ during Euro 1996, his first major competition at international level. The former Manchester United right-back stood in stony silence with his reasoning similar to that of Carsley’s – to keep his mind on the matter at hand.
‘I didn’t sing it the first time I played for England, partly because I thought “I’m serious about my work and I’m not singing before a game”. I said “I’m not being told by some suits what to do”.’
Neville had been further irked after being told by then-FA chief Geoff Thompson that he must sing the anthem.
‘He [Thompson] only ever sought out one conversation with me,’ Neville recalled in 2011. ‘Did he want to pick my brains on World Cup preparation? Or ask how the FA could help behind the scenes? No, Mr Thompson wanted to know why I didn’t sing the National Anthem.
‘”Gary, we’d rather appreciate it if you joined in,” he said. I had to politely explain that no disrespect was intended, I preferred to spend those few minutes, as I’d done all my career, focusing on the match. And that was the extent of my dealings with the chairman of the FA.’
Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Liverpool star stayed silent ahead of England’s Nations League defeat to Hungary in June 2022, a match that also fell on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.
Thankfully, Gareth Southgate was on hand to laugh off the row, reminding people of Neville’s stance on the issue 16 years earlier.
Southgate said: ‘No, I don’t think Gary Neville ever sang it. It must be a right-back thing.’
Wayne Rooney
The Manchester United and Three Lions legend won 120 caps between 2003 and 2018, a record for an outfield player and one of the best of his generation. But for the first-half of his international career, Rooney decided against belting out the anthem – because he never learned the words.
Predictably, one of the country’s most vital and influential players was blasted by some sections of the press and was accused of being unpatriotic.
Eventually, ‘Wazza’ got a call from the Royal Society of St George who offered to help teach him the words.
Gary Lineker
A situation slightly similar to the one presently surrounding Carsley erupted in the world of cricket in 2015. Dublin-born Eoin Morgan opted out of customary anthem-singing for the six years prior to being named England captain in 2015 and would continue to opt out for ‘personal reasons’.
Piers Morgan was among those outraged with former striker Gary Lineker coming to the defence of the England skipper, admitting he ‘hated’ singing the anthem.
‘I used to hate singing it. Still do,’ Lineker tweeted. ‘Mainly because I’m hideously bad. Don’t understand why it’s important.
Not just England players…
The tiresome debate isn’t limited to English football. Mesut Ozil, made headlines in 2018 for not singing ‘Deutschlandlied’ in 2018, explaining he preferred to spend those final moments before kick-off in prayer.
‘While the anthem is being played, I pray, and I am sure that this will give us strength and confidence to drive the victory home,’ Ozil said.
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