Declan Rice ensured his muted celebrations continued on social media after scoring in England’s 2-0 Nations League win over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday evening.
The Arsenal midfielder opened the scoring at the Aviva Stadium with a thumping finish into the top right corner of the goal, with Jack Grealish later adding a second goal for the Three Lions.
Rice was loudly booed after netting for England, though opted against riling up the home supporters by refusing to celebrate his successful strike. The same did not apply when Grealish slotted past Caoimhin Kelleher, having also received a hostile reception.
The England duo both previously represented Ireland at international level earlier on in their career before switching allegiances, which has left a sour taste among fans.
Not wishing to cause further drama, however, Rice shared an image of himself on Instagram without any caption to avoid any possible backlash.
Explaining his decision for showing no emotion after his goal, Rice told Sky Sports News on Saturday: “To have celebrated, it would have been really disrespectful of me.
“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.”
Offering his perspective on the matter, and why he chose to act differently, Grealish added: “It’s what me and Dec expected. I said before the game, it’s different; we have nothing bad to say.
“We both enjoyed our time playing here, I have a lot of Irish in my family. There’s no bad blood whatsoever from my side.”
