Declan Rice has admitted that he was never going to celebrate his goal against the Republic of Ireland in Saturday’s UEFA Nations League clash out of respect for his Irish origins, Soccernet.football reports.
Rice’s history with the Irish national team saw him represent them at three youth levels and feature on three occasions for their senior team before switching his allegiance to England.
The 25-year-old put the Three Lions in front with a powerful shot into the top corner, eleven minutes into the game and was understandably met with boos from a significant portion of the Irish fans in attendance. However, the Arsenal midfielder chose not to celebrate his goal.
“To have celebrated, it would have been really disrespectful of me,” he told Sky Sports News after the victory.
“My nan and grandad, my dad’s side of the family are all Irish and they’ve obviously passed away. They’re not here anymore.
“I didn’t want to do that, to be honest with you. I had such an amazing time playing for Ireland, even in the first team, the U19s, U21s.
“They were great memories that live with me. So, look, I don’t have a bad word to say, to be honest with you. I wish them all the best.”
England’s victory in Dublin gets them off to a great start under interim boss Lee Carsley. The Three Lions will now be looking to build on Saturday’s win when they square up against Finland at Wembley on Tuesday.
