England midfielder Declan Rice has revealed the reason why he opted not to celebrate his goal against Ireland and felt the fans in Dublin were justified to boo him.
Rice opened the scoring for England in the 11th minute with a first-time finish inside the box.
However, the Arsenal man held his hands up as if to say sorry despite being mobbed by his teammates.
It was a goal nearly five years in the making as Rice switched his international allegiance from Ireland to England in February 2019.
Prior to the change, Rice featured in three friendlies for Ireland but turned down further call-ups, opting to represent the Three Lions instead.
Rice refused to celebrate after scoring the opener for England against Ireland in Dublin
The midfielder smashed home a first-time effort inside the box in the 11th minute
Rice has since gone on to play in two European Championship finals as well as a World Cup quarter final, opportunities he would not have had had he remained an Ireland player.
But the 25-year-old insisted he was ‘never’ going to celebrate against the nation he previously represented and offered a touching reason why that was the case.
‘Obviously it was an amazing feeling to score, but I was never going to celebrate’, Rice told beIN Sports after the match.
‘I have Irish family. My nan and grandad, who are not here anymore, I think it would have been disrespectful to them if I celebrated. My dad was here as well.
‘Obviously to score, it was a nice feeling but then I wanted to focus on getting back in the game and try to score more goals.’
Grealish added England’s second but despite representing Ireland at under-17, under-18 and under-21 level, he was all too happy to celebrate his goal.
Irish supporters made their frustrations regarding the pair known as their every touch was booed while some held flags aloft depicting Rice’s face next to pictures of a snake.
Rice revealed he did not celebrate because it would have been disrespectful to his family
Despite previously representing Ireland, Jack Grealish was all too happy to celebrate his goal
Rice revealed he and Grealish did not speak about the reception they were expecting to receive before the game.
But no matter how long had passed since he switched international allegiances, Rice felt Irish fans had every right to react however they pleased.
‘I think we’ve seen so much stuff recently,’ Rice said.
‘This happened six or seven years ago. It’s such a long time ago now. I get on really well with a lot of the Irish boys. There’s nothing hard done by me.
‘Obviously the fans feel a certain way and that’s absolutely fine.’
