Should Lee Carsley be sacked for refusing to sing God Save the King? Vote now | Football | Sport

Lee Carsley will refuse to sing the English national anthem when his team take on Ireland on Saturday evening.

Express Sport is asking readers if the interim coach should be sacked for not joining in with God Save the King.

Carsley was born in Birmingham but represented Ireland through a grandmother. He did not sing the national anthem when he was in charge of England’s under-21.

He explained: “This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland. The gap between your warm up, you coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done.

“I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off. I was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching.

“We had the national anthem with the Under 21s also and I am in a zone at that point. I am thinking about how the opposition are gonna set up and our first actions within the game.

“I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”