Declan Rice found the back of the net in England's Nations League match against Ireland, but he opted not to celebrate in front of an overwhelmingly pro-Irish crowd at Aviva Stadium.
The Three Lions returned to action just two months after their disappointing Euro 2024 final defeat to kickoff their 2024–25 Nations League campaign. Even without Jude Bellingham in the midfield, England comfortably recorded a 2–0 victory against Ireland thanks to goals from Rice and Jack Grealish.
The Arsenal man found the game's opening goal just 11 minutes into the affair after he slotted home a rebound off Harry Kane's blocked shot. Instead of openly enjoying the moment with the sea of white shirts behind the net, Rice took a subdued approach and just hugged his teammates as boos rang out throughout the stadium.
The hostile reception is no surprise given that Rice used to represent Ireland from 2014 to 2018 before making the switch to England in 2019. The 25-year-old already has 59 caps and four goals for the Three Lions.
"I was never going to celebrate. My nan and grandad are not here anymore and I think it would have been disrespectful to them."
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 7, 2024
Declan Rice tells @zmansour75 why he didn't celebrate his goal against the Republic of Ireland.#beINNATIONSLEAGUE #AFC pic.twitter.com/3JJ1cVLHbM
After the game, Rice explained his decision not to celebrate his goal.
"Obviously it was an amazing feeling to score, but I was never going to celebrate," the 25-year-old told reporter Ziad Mansour. "I have Irish family. My nan and granddad are not here anymore and I think it would have been disrespectful to them if I celebrated. My dad was here as well."
"Scoring was a nice feeling but then [I] wanted to focus on getting back in the game and scoring more goals," Rice concluded.
Grealish, though, did not hesitate to celebrate his goal in the 26th minute despite also formerly representing Ireland. The 29-year-old ran straight to the away fans and pumped his fist in the air.
Both Rice and Grealish will look to keep up their scoring ways as England take on Finland in its second Group F fixture today at 2:45 p.m. ET.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Declan Rice Explains Decision Not to Celebrate Against Ireland.
