Gary Lineker has described the backlash over England interim boss Lee Carsley’s refusal to sing the national anthem as “bonkers” following the Three Lions’ 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland.
Carsley got off to a strong start in his audition to be Gareth Southgate’s replacement, but before a ball had been kicked had upset a section of supporters. The 50-year-old, who was born in Birmingham but considers himself Irish and made 40 caps for Saturday’s opposition, confirmed before kick-off that he would not sing God Save the King.
The FA have affirmed that Carsley’s decision will not be held against him in their search for a new permanent head coach, with BBC host Lineker baffled at the furore surrounding Carsley.
Lineker even admitted that he “didn’t feel comfortable” belting out the national anthem before matches when he was playing for England.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker reacted: “Crikey, they do like to stir things up, don’t they? I find it bonkers. I remember some players didn’t sing because they were too shy. I used to kind of sing a bit but not too loud because my voice is terrible.
“I always felt a little bit self-conscious singing on a football pitch, didn’t feel comfortable with it. I don’t know. I just think it’s a bit weird.”
Alan Shearer, a fellow England icon and Lineker’s co-host, similarly explained that “You are not judged on whether you sing the anthem or not”, before adding: “You’re going to be judged on bloody football results. It’s not whether you sing the national anthem or not.”
Goals from two controversial figures in Declan Rice and Jack Grealish gave Carsley’s side all three points in his first game in charge, with Lineker overjoyed that the former Under-21 boss has seemingly learned from Southgate’s mistakes during his final tournament with England at Euro 2024.
Lineker continued: “Everyone wanted Anthony Gordon kind of to play on the left, didn’t they? Because we all saw that there was a weakness and an unbalanced side. And also that he could run behind players.
“Because we all know (Harry) Kane likes to go short, so you’ve got to have a threat behind. So he (Carsley) did that. The other thing was he (Southgate) left Jack Grealish out of the squad, which a lot of people were bemused by, and he’s come in and performed really well. And obviously, he (Southgate) never really trusted Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“So in the first game, Carsley’s come up with all these things. And a lot of us are going, ‘Well, you see, we told you’.”
