Gary Neville on why he refused to sing the national anthem for England | Football | Sport

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville refused to sing the national anthem during his first major tournament with the Three Lions. There has been plenty of debate over those who opt against singing the anthem – with German manager Thomas Tuchel choosing not to do so – but Neville’s decision was born out of protest at being ordered to do it. Years later, having moved into punditry, the Bury-born defender would reflect on his decision at Euro 96 as a mistake.

“I didn’t sing it the first time I played for England,” Neville said. “Partly because I thought, ‘I’m serious about my work and I’m not singing before a game.’” The full-back was still making his way in the game when FA chairman Geoff Thompson contacted him for an explanation after a failure to sing ahead of a 1995 match with Japan, prompting Neville to insist he wouldn’t be told what to do by “suits.” Later, in a column for The Mail, Neville shed more light on that interaction.

“He (Thompson) only ever sought out one conversation with me,” Neville wrote. “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.”

There is no official English national anthem but the British national anthem, God Save the King, is played before Three Lions matches. There have been calls for a change, with some preferring Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory, though plenty of Express readers are happy to stick with the current arrangement.

In a recent poll, 45 per cent of a sample of 4,000 readers thought we should keep God Save the King. However, the remainder were split between Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory or I Vow to Thee My Country.

During this summer’s World Cup, another song captured the attention of England fans – Oasis’ 90s hit Wonderwall. “Hopefully, it becomes an anthem because that’s exactly what a tournament like this is for,” manager Tuchel said after a group stage victory over Croatia.

“It’s for the connection between fans and the team – they felt the energy, the team spirit. It was a beautiful moment and it meant a lot to all of us. Hopefully, we can recreate this in the next game.”

It did indeed become a tradition throughout the tournament. But regardless of Saturday’s result in the third-place play-off against France, there’s unlikely to be another post-match rendition of Wonderwall after the disappointment of defeat to Argentina in Wednesday’s semi-final.