ENGLAND fans were left confused after Declan Rice refused the captain’s armband against the Republic of Ireland.
The Arsenal midfielder made three senior caps for Ireland in friendlies before switching his allegiance to England in 2019.
After being welcomed by derogatory “snake” banners and loud boos from Irish fans, Rice scored England’s opener inside 12 minutes.
The Premier League star then humbly refused to celebrate after representing Ireland in his youth through his grandparents.
Rice subsequently declined the captain’s armband when skipper Harry Kane was being substituted off in the final five minutes.
The 25-year-old took a step back by asking Kane to remove the black armlet and pointed towards John Stones who was coming on.
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The Three Lions’ top goalscorer then obliged by walking away from Rice and handing over the reigns to Stones.
On the rejecting the captaincy, Rice said: “Kane tried to give me the armband but Stonesy is more senior and experienced than me.
“I just said to Harry, ‘Probably John deserves it more than me. I said to give it to John.’
“That was it. It doesn’t need to be made into a bigger thing. John is one of the more senior ones. Usually he is captain when Harry doesn’t play so it was the right decision.”
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And on not celebrating his goal, Rice added: “Obviously my grandparents are Irish and they’ve all passed away now.
“So I did not want to be disrespectful to them. I really enjoyed myself playing for Ireland and did not think it was appropriate.”
One England fan posted on X: “Hahahaha Rice is doing too much now, he doesn’t want the armband and he didn’t celebrate after scoring.”
An Ireland fan wrote: “Rice is not celebrating his goal or taking the captain’s armband from Kane.
“Stop being woke man just take it, not like we give enough of a s**t to care at this stage.”
While another noted: “After speaking to Rice, Kane has given the armband to John Stones instead. Weird.”
Rice captained England for his 50th cap against Belgium in March this year, as the Three Lions drew 2-2 at Wembley.
Jack Grealish, who doubled England’s lead, was also met with a brutally frosty reaction from home fans inside the Aviva Stadium.
Both the Manchester City ace and Rice were targeted by boos and jeers with both having ‘betrayed’ Ireland in the eyes of fans.
Grealish, though, did not hold back after scoring, as he fist-pumped the air in front of the travelling supporters.
He also stuck his fingers in his ears in a statement to silence his critics.
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Meanwhile, interim boss Lee Carsley passed his first test with flying colours after England stormed to a 2-0 victory.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
