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Ireland fans boo Declan Rice and Jack Grealish at Nations League game against England

Ireland fans boo Declan Rice and Jack Grealish at the UEFA Nations League League B Group 2 game against England on Saturday evening.

We also heard boos by both sets of supporters during the two national anthems in the Aviva Stadium, making for quite the atmosphere.

Declan Rice of all players got England ahead on the 11th minute, put his hands down to say he’s not celebrating. England fans turned and made hand gestures at Ireland fans.

Then Jack Grealish got himself on the scoresheet netting in the 26th minute to quieten down Ireland fans with England going two up.

Jack Grealish and Declan Rice both made the choice to change their international affiliations from the Republic of Ireland to England, a subject that has sparked considerable debate and controversy.

Grealish, who was born in Birmingham, England, has Irish ancestry through his grandparents. He represented Ireland at various youth levels, including under-17, under-18, and under-21 teams.

In 2015, he was close to receiving a senior call-up for Ireland but ultimately opted to play for England.

This choice was influenced by the intervention of the English Football Association, which ensured his participation with the English national team.

Rice meanwhile was born in London, and also has Irish heritage through his grandparents. He played for Ireland at youth levels and made three senior appearances in friendly matches.

In 2019, Rice decided to switch to England, expressing his ambition to compete at the highest level and his strong ties to England.

This decision was particularly contentious, given that he had already represented Ireland’s senior team in non-competitive fixtures.

Lee Carsley said when asked if he has spoken to the pair about the reception they might get from fans: “No I’ve not spoken to them two individually. I spoke to the team about understanding the atmosphere. Not only the atmosphere, but the new (Ireland) coach, so we are still quite unsure on what to expect.

“I think if two players are prepared for it and everyone else isn’t, it’s going to be a bit of a shock but yeah we’ve spoken about what we think Ireland may do and the atmosphere and the tempo, and we will be ready for whatever we come up against.”

Rice and Grealish, Harry Kane said in his press conference: “I haven’t spoken to Dec and Jack. I think everyone has their path to their career and theirs was a small part with Ireland and the rest of it with England. So they are mature enough to deal with that and it’s going to be a tough game, the atmosphere will be tough.

“We are going into a place where we expect it to be a little bit hostile, but that is no different to a lot of away games we face. Everyone has a different path and for Dec and Jack it was just part of their footballing career so far.”

Ireland captain Seamus Coleman wasn’t concerned by the hostile reception Declan Rice and Jack Grealish would likely to receive at the Aviva Stadium.

He said: ‘They chose who they wanted to represent. I’ve said it for long enough, whatever they feel they are that’s what they chose to be.

‘I know Declan came in and played three games. I can only speak as Declan coming in, a good guy, top player as everyone knows. I just want lads that want to represent Ireland and we’ve got that and they are eager to do well.

‘Those lads have went their own way and what reception they get I don’t know. It’s been a few years now and it’s not a concern to me any more now.’

Jack Grealish to ITV post-match:

On the reception, with both he and Rice having represented Ireland previously: “It was what me and Declan expected. We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland] – I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there’s no bad blood whatsoever from my side.”

On returning to England XI after missing Euro 2024: “I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that’s what I did today. I’m still not 100% fit but I’m getting there so from a personal point of view I’m happy.

“Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen there’s no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.

“Over the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t not see everything that is happening in front of you. It was difficult but it’s given me something to bounce back.”

Declan Rice to ITV:

“Really good. It was the manager’s first game and we got a win.

“We’re in the league below where we want to be so we know how important it is to win this group.

“To score alongside Jack, it was a really nice feeling as well.

“It has been really refreshing this week – Lee has been amazing to work with, his meetings have been top and training has been really good.

“It’s been a fresh start, a change and to win for him today and for ourselves to get off to a winning start was the main thing.”

England interim boss Lee Carsley to ITV:

“I thought it was good in parts. You’ve seen some of the things we’ve tried to do.

“The lads have to take a lot of credit, all of the credit. I think we’ve showed we’ve got some real talent and we can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well.

“I thought they [Rice and Grealish] took their goals really well. Really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes. I think, moving forward, they can both add a lot more goals to their game.

“Jack definitely doesn’t have anything to prove to us, we can see his quality, but today will have done him the world of good, getting another goal for England and hopefully he can continue that form.

“On a really dry sticky pitch, it’s not ideal for dribblers but I thought Anthony [Gordon] was a real threat. He’s carried on his form from last season and he looks a really dangerous player.

“I think you’ve got to give Ireland credit as well, they are very resilient, they closed the gaps and our space maybe became a bit wider [in the second half].

“We found it a little bit more difficult to get through them but at 2-0 we were quite comfortable.”

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