The FA reportedly will not factor Lee Carsley’s refusal to sing God Save the King into his chances of becoming the next permanent England head coach.
Although Carsley – a former Republic of Ireland international – has confirmed that he will not sing the English national anthem, The Times claims that the FA believe that the call is a personal choice and will not count it against him in their search for Gareth Southgate’s replacement.
The 50-year-old was born in Birmingham but made 40 caps for the team he starts his England reign against on Saturday. He wants to “focus on the football” and won’t change his pre-match routine by signing the anthem.
Wembley insiders reportedly have pointed to Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman, who similarly does not sing the anthem as a Dutch woman, and has avoided scrutiny.
Carsley did not take up the option to sing the anthem either while he was in charge of the England Under-21 team, though has angered some sections of fans before taking charge of his first match.
“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” said Carsley. “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 was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching. We had the national anthem with the Under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point.
“I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game. I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”
Carsley has a realistic chance of succeeding Southgate permanently should his stint as interim boss be successful, having tasted European Championship glory with the U21s already.
He will lead Harry Kane and co against Ireland and Finland to kick off England’s Nations League campaign, with four more matches to come in 2024 potentially for the former Everton and Derby man.
