Gary Lineker has branded the row over Lee Carsley’s refusal to sing the national anthem “crazy” and “bizarre”, revealing he “didn’t feel comfortable” singing it himself.
Match of the Day presenter Lineker accused those who criticised England’s interim manager for remaining silent during God Save The King of wanting to “stir things up”.
Carsley confirmed ahead of Nations League final 2-0 win for his country victory against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday He would not sing the anthemstating that he had never done so while he was coach of the Under-21s.
The former midfielder said the same thing had happened when he played for the Republic of Ireland.
“Boy, they do like to stir up trouble, don’t they?” former England captain Lineker said on his The Rest Is Football podcast.
“I think it’s crazy. I remember some players not singing because they were too shy. I used to sing a little bit, but not too loud because my voice is terrible.
“I always felt a bit self-conscious singing on a football pitch, I didn’t feel comfortable with it.
“I don’t know. I just think it’s a little weird.”
Shearer: You’re not judged by whether you sing the anthem or not
Co-presenter Alan Shearer seemed to agree, adding: “They will be judged on football results. It’s not about whether they sing the national anthem or not.”
Lineker praises Carsley for his tactics and selection
Lineker also said England’s performance on Saturday had claimed his harsh criticism of his performances at this summer’s Euros and that the team selection and the tactics had justified their attacks on the way Gareth Southgate had established himself in Germany.
The 63-year-old caused a sensation at Euro 2024 by Calling Southgate’s team’s performance “crap” after their dismal 1-1 draw with Denmark and suggesting the manager had been “tactically inept”.
Lineker claimed Carsley had taken exactly the approach he had asked for: “Everyone wanted Anthony Gordon to play on the left, didn’t they? Because we all saw that there was a weakness and an unbalanced team. And also that he could run in behind players.
“We all know Kane likes to play short, so you have to have a threat at the back. So he[Carsley]did that. The other thing was that he[Southgate]left Jack Grealish out of the team, which puzzled a lot of people, and he came in and played really well. And obviously, he[Southgate]never really trusted Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“In the first game, Carsley came up with all this. And a lot of us said, ‘Well, you see, we told you so.’”
Shearer and co-presenter Micah Richards also pointed out that Gordon and Kane had publicly criticised England’s performances at the Euros in the build-up to the game against Ireland, despite the latter having accused Lineker and co of escalating their own attacks on the team “for their own gain”.