Former Westminster MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed England’s interim manager Lee Carsley needs to sing the national anthem and “zone out of his Irish Republicanism”.
The row emerged at the weekend as the Republic played England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with Carsley’s team winning the match thanks to goals by Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.
Despite the win, much of the commentary after focused on the action before kick off, with focus Carsley’s choice not to sing God Save the King.
The former midfielder played for the Republic of Ireland at international level and explained he never sung the anthem during his playing career, nor when he was coaching the Under-21 national side.
Mr Rees-Mogg – who lost his seat in Westminster at the recent General Election in July – said if Carsley doesn’t sing the anthem “no one will believe he cares about the England team he wishes to lead”.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Rees-Mogg added: “Sinn Fein MPs cannot take their seats in Parliament because they will not take an oath to the Crown,” Rees-Mogg told GB News.
“They do not accept the legitimacy of the constitutional settlement. Wanting to change it by democratic means is perfectly reasonable, and free speech must, of course, be upheld.
“The same principle applies to England football managers. They must support the nation whose team they seek to lead, even if they themselves are foreign.
“Singing the national anthem is a symbol of this, and if they will not accept the symbol, they should not hold the post.
“This applies to Lee Carsley, who needs to zone out of his Irish Republicanism and learn to sing God save the King.
“Otherwise, no one will believe he cares about the England team he wishes to lead.”
Carsley had previously said he “always struggled” with anthems while he was playing and when asked if he ever sings the anthem he replied “no”.
“The gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done,” he added.
“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.”