Lee Carsley has explained previously his reason not to sing the England national anthem stems from his playing days.
The 50-year-old was appointed the England interim boss this summer after Gareth Southgate stepped down.
The FA are yet to make a final decision on a permanent choice, but Carsley’s first two games in charge in September put him in a strong position.
A disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece has not helped his chances, but Carsley also risks losing the vote of the general public due to his refusal to sing the national anthem.
Lee Carsley won’t be singing the national anthem again
PA
Carsley was born in Birmingham but opted to represent the Republic of Ireland after qualifying to play for them through his grandmother.
He went on to play 40 times fore Ireland before his international retirement in 2008.
Carsley soon embarked on a managerial career after his playing days were over and joined the England set-up in 2020 as the head coach of the Under-20 side.
The following year he was appointed the head coach of the England Under-21 side and led them to U21 European Championship glory in 2023, featuring players such as Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Levi Colwill and Curtis Jones.
Carsley is now in his most high-profile role as manager in an attempt to take the England senior job permanently.
However, he’s caused uproar among some supporters for not singing the national anthem for the country of his birth.
Speaking last month, Carsley explained his refusal to not sing the anthem stems from his decision to play for Ireland at international level.
“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” Carsley said last month.
Lee Carsley will want a response from his side
Reuters
“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.
“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 am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game.
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England lost 2-1 to Greece on Thursday night
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“I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”
England are back in action this evening away to Finland where he was dropped Jordan Pickford in goal for Dean Henderson.
Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, John Stones and Trent Alexander-Arnold are the only players to keep their place from the team that lost to Greece.