England star Jack Grealish’s decision to snub the Republic of Ireland in favour of the Three Lions is claimed to have sparked bitterness from Roy Keane. The rival nations are set to meet in a Nations League clash at the Aviva Stadium today (Saturday), with Grealish vying for a place in interim boss Lee Carsley’s side after earning an England recall.
The Manchester City winger hasn’t had the most straightforward international career, opting to represent Republic of Ireland at age-group level before turning down call-ups to the senior side and eventually declaring his allegiance to England.
The former Aston Villa captain waited to make his Three Lions debut and emerged as a breakout star at Euro 2020 – but he faced criticism from former Ireland midfielder and coach Keane in the aftermath of England’s penalty shootout defeat to Italy.
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The former Republic of Ireland skipper slammed Grealish and his team-mates for allowing Bukayo Saka to take the decisive spot kick in the final, telling ITV: "If you're Sterling or Grealish, you cannot sit there and have a young kid go up for a penalty ahead of you,” Keane said.
“You cannot let a shy 19-year-old go up in front of you. They have a lot more experience, Sterling has won trophies, they had to get in front of the young kid and stand up."
Keane had been Ireland's assistant coach during their pursuit of Grealish, while their paths had also crossed during his short spell as a coach at Villa. Grealish fired back at Keane’s analysis on social media, insisting that he had told Gareth Southgate he would take a penalty but that the manager had favoured other players.
Despite their earlier working relationship, it was claimed that Keane’s comments were fuelled by Grealish’s decision to reject the Boys in Green. “As we all know, Roy Keane has got an opinion. But you can’t just accept that knowing it’s not the truth,” ex-England winger Trevor Sinclair told talkSPORT in 2021.
“Roy Keane’s not privileged, we are not privileged at talkSPORT to know what was going on in those meetings when we’re talking about penalties. I believe Jack. I don’t think he’s a shrinking violet. He’s a player who steps up to the plate.
"When you want to make a name for yourself, that's when you step up. I think with Roy Keane, with the fact Jack Grealish left the Irish squad, went to the England squad, I think there’s a little bit of sour grapes there personally.”
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Grealish is not the only member of the England squad to snub the Republic of Ireland, with Declan Rice earning three caps for the senior team in friendlies before crossing over to England. Meanwhile, new interim England boss Lee Carsley will coach the Three Lions against the country he earned 40 caps for during his playing days.
It is not the first time that Grealish could potentially face Ireland, having started in a 3-0 victory for England in November 2020. However, his former allegiances led ex-England boss Hodgson to admit he had purposefully overlooked the forward in 2015. "It would have been inflammatory at the last minute if he chose us and played," Hodgson said after Grealish had rejected a call-up from the Republic of Ireland.
The upcoming games against Ireland and Finland offer Grealish an opportunity to re-establish his value to the England team. The winger was a notable omission from Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024 after being named in the provisional group.
