England midfielder Declan Rice has revealed why he chose not to celebrate his goal against Ireland and believes Dublin fans were justified in booing him.
Rice opened the scoring for England in the 11th minute with a first-time strike inside the box.
However, the Arsenal man raised his hands as if to apologise despite being mobbed by his team-mates.
It was a goal he had been preparing for almost five years, when Rice switched international sides from Ireland to England in February 2019.
Prior to the switch, Rice had featured in three friendlies for Ireland but had declined further call-ups, opting instead to represent the Three Lions.
Rice refused to celebrate after scoring England’s first goal against Ireland in Dublin
The midfielder scored a first goal in the area in the 11th minute.
Rice has since appeared in two European Championship finals and a World Cup quarter-final, opportunities he would not have had had he remained an Irish player.
But the 25-year-old insisted he would “never” celebrate against the nation he previously represented and gave a touching reason as to why that was the case.
“It was obviously an incredible feeling to score, but I never intended to celebrate,” Rice told beIN Sports after the game.
“I have Irish family. My grandmother and grandfather, who are no longer here, I think it would have been disrespectful to them if I had celebrated them. My father was there too.
“It was obviously nice to score, but then I wanted to focus on getting back into the game and trying to score more goals.”
Rice’s subdued celebration contrasted with that of his England team-mate and former Ireland youth international Jack Grealish.
Grealish added England’s second goal but despite representing Ireland at under-17, under-18 and under-21 level, he was more than happy to celebrate his goal.
Irish fans expressed their frustration with the pair, with each of their contacts being booed while some waved flags depicting Rice’s face alongside images of a snake.
Rice revealed he didn’t celebrate because it would have been disrespectful to his family
Despite having represented Ireland before, Jack Grealish was more than happy to celebrate his goal
Rice revealed he and Grealish had not spoken about the reception they expected to receive before the game.
But no matter how long it had been since he switched international allegiances, Rice felt Irish fans had every right to react as they wished.
“I think we’ve seen so much recently,” Rice said.
“It was six or seven years ago. It’s so long ago now. I get on really well with a lot of Irish boys. I’ve done nothing wrong.
“It’s obvious that fans feel a certain way about things and that’s completely normal.”