England star Declan Rice reveals the emotional reason why he REFUSED to celebrate his goal against Ireland – claiming it would have been ‘disrespectful’ to do so

England midfielder Declan Rice has revealed why he chose not to celebrate his goal against Ireland, saying he was rightly booed by the fans in Dublin.

Rice opened the scoring for England in the 11th minute with a shot into the penalty area.

However, the Arsenal player held his hands up as if to apologise despite the attacks from his teammates.

It was a goal that had been eagerly awaited for almost five years since Rice switched his international allegiance from Ireland to England in February 2019.

Before the change, Rice made three friendly appearances for Ireland but turned down further call-ups, opting to play for the Three Lions.

The midfielder fired a first-time shot into the penalty area in the 11th minute

Rice has since played in two European Championship finals and a World Cup quarter-final, opportunities he would not have had if he had played for Ireland.

But the 25-year-old insisted he would ‘never’ celebrate against the nation he represented and gave a moving reason why.

‘Of course it was a great feeling to score, but I would never celebrate it’, Rice told beIN Sports after the match.

“I have Irish family. My grandmother and grandfather, who are no longer here, I think it would have been disrespectful to them if I celebrated. My father was there too.

‘Of course it felt good to score, but I just wanted to focus on getting back into the game and trying to score more goals.’

Rice’s subdued joy was in contrast to his England team-mate and former Ireland youth international Jack Grealish.

Grealish scored England’s second goal but despite representing Ireland at under-17, under-18 and under-21 level, he was eager to celebrate.

Irish fans vented their frustration at the pair, booing any contact and some holding up flags with Rice’s face next to images of a snake.

Rice revealed he didn’t celebrate because it would be disrespectful to his family

Despite previously representing Ireland, Jack Grealish was only too happy to celebrate his goal

Rice admitted he and Grealish had not spoken about the reception they expected before the match.

But however long it had been since he switched international allegiance, Rice felt Irish fans had every right to react as they wished.

“I think we’ve seen so much of that lately,” Rice said.

“This happened six or seven years ago. It’s been so long now. I get on really well with a lot of the Irish guys. Nothing was done to me that was difficult.

“Obviously the fans feel a certain way about it and that’s totally fine.”