Some England fans are already calling for interim manager Lee Carsley to be sacked before he has even played a single game for the Three Lions.
The shocking requests came after Carsley admitted he will not sing the England national anthem ahead of the Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland.
Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but played for the Republic of Ireland at international level, said: ‘This (singing the national anthem) is something I always struggled with when I played for Ireland.
‘The time between your warm-up, coming out onto the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So that’s something I’ve never done before. I was always very focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I really noticed that in that period I was on guard that my mind would wander.’
Carsley’s decision appears to have divided the country, with many Three Lions fans expressing their disgust at the admission, while others justified his reasoning.
Interim head coach Lee Carsley (centre) has admitted he will not be singing the England national anthem
Carsley, born in Birmingham, represented the Republic of Ireland at senior international level
Carsley (second from left) admitted he struggles with singing national anthems before matches
Sky Sports and TalkSport presenter Jamie O’Hara gave his opinion on social media platform X.
He indicated that he was not too happy with Carsley’s decision: ‘What do people think about Carsley not wanting to sing the national anthem?
“That’s fine with me, see you later then. You just lost the entire nation before you even kicked a ball. Thanks for coming, Lee.”
Another English fan had the same opinion on the matter. In his post he wrote: ‘Sven Goran-Eriksson sang the national anthem and he wasn’t even from our country.’
‘I don’t care if Lee Carsley played for Ireland, but if there is a political reason why he doesn’t want to sing the national anthem then he should stop.’
While another added ‘Lee Carsley .. an English born, England manager – refuses to sing the national anthem. Oh dear, not a good start’.
Presenter Jamie O’Hara has declared that Carsley has ‘lost the whole nation’ before his team have kicked a ball
Others were quick to defend his decision, however. One fan wrote: ‘Lee Carsley has been hired to manage the England football team with clever selection, tactics and a touch of adventure.
“He’s not on ‘The Masked Singer.’ No one should care if he sings the national anthem if he can coax a melody out of a couple of gifted players.”
A second post shared on X said: ‘I don’t care if Lee Carsley sings the anthem or not as long as he’s addressing the England players.
‘Carsley, checks notes, a former international, didn’t sing GSTK with #ENG U21s and he certainly got a melody out of it. Great to see – and European champion.’
A third X user added:
‘Lee Carsley has never sung the national anthem because he is too focused on the game. He has not changed since he became coach.
“There are plenty of players who don’t sing it. If we get Klopp, do you expect him to sing it? I don’t even know if Southgate has sung it – honestly, who cares?”
Carsley has enjoyed great success with England’s youth academy, with the 50-year-old leading England Under-21s to European glory last year.
He was part of He has been a member of the English Football Association’s coaching staff since 2015. If his audition against Ireland and Finland this week goes well, he could well win the coveted prize of being appointed the next permanent England manager.
Carsley continued to explain why he didn’t sing the national anthem
‘ I was really focused on football and I took that into my coaching.
‘We also had the national anthem with the Under 21s and I’m in a zone at that moment. I’m thinking about how the opponent is going to position themselves and our first actions in the match.
‘I have great respect for both anthems and realize how much they mean to both countries.’
