Rice’s IRA regret
FA warns Declan after Instagram post storm
DECLAN Rice has been forced to apologise after being caught in the middle of an IRA storm on the eve of his England debut.
Gareth Southgate will speak to Rice, while the Football Association insist the West Ham starlet will be reminded of his responsibilities, after social media posts — dating back to 2015 — appearing to endorse the IRA emerged yesterday.
Rice has recently switched international allegiance from The Republic of Ireland to England, despite having earned three senior caps for the Irish and is set to be on the bench at Wembley tonight for the Euro 2020 qualifier against Czech Republic.
The midfielder moved quickly to express his regret at the social media activity, posting yesterday: ‘I am aware a poorly-expressed comment I made when I was a junior player has been circulated on social media.
‘I recognise now that my attempt to show support for my team-mates at the time could be negatively interpreted.
‘While my naive words were not meant to be a political opinion and do not represent who I am, I sincerely apologise for any offence caused.’
Despite the controversy, Southgate believes the England supporters will back Rice tonight.
‘I think people understand; most people will have children of those sorts of ages and people are still maturing at that age,’ said the England boss.
‘You’re in conversations with friends that, you can get giddy and you can say things that maybe you don’t even know enough about or you don’t understand the context.
‘So I think our fans and our public will recognise that fact.
‘He’s apologised. It’s not representative of what he believes and feels, and his views. And outside of that, the obvious point is that this was when he was 15 or 16 when he was engaged in a social conversation with friends.
‘I think any of us at that age, in those sorts of situations, have probably said things, discussed things, written things, that might not look the way that’d we’d want (them to) several years later, so I don’t think he can say or do any more than he’s said at this point in time.’
The FA have worked tirelessly to combat various anti-IRA chants often sang by England supporters, particularly on away trips.
But Southgate insisted the controversy does not undermine the work the governing body have done to prevent the songs from being chanted.
‘We have to make sure that it doesn’t,’ said Southgate. ‘Our message doesn’t change and I think Declan’s statement is consistent with that.
‘We still would be against any of our supporters taking up that sort of stance and I don’t think anything changes from an FA or England point of view.’
Southgate added: ‘I’ll go and speak to him to make sure he knows that firstly, he’s OK and he’s supported.
‘I understand that it’s not a situation that should just be dismissed but equally the context, the period of time that’s passed and his age at the time is all relevant in how we should deal with it.’
An FA spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the matter and will be writing to him to remind him of his responsibilities.’
Southgate is set to give Jadon Sancho his first competitive start tonight following the withdrawal of Marcus Rashford from the squad due to an ankle injury.
Michael Keane will play alongside Harry Maguire in the heart of England’s defence that is also expected to include Kyle Walker and Ben Chillwell, while Dele Alli is hopeful of getting the nod in a No 10 role.
England Under-21 stars Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tammy Abraham are on standby to join up with the senior squad for Monday’s game in Montenegro following six withdrawals.
Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford defiantly answered his critics yesterday amid growing scrutiny over his position as England’s No 1 goalkeeper.
The Everton stopper will start tonight’s Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic, despite having made several high-profile errors this season.
But Pickford insists he is mentally strong enough to take the flak, saying: ‘I don’t mind it, you see it all on Twitter. If you don’t laugh you cry, don’t you?
‘But it’s about me becoming better as a goalkeeper, it’s not about the criticism I’m getting.
‘Do I think it’s been too harsh? No, it’s all right. Everyone can have their own opinion.
‘I think all that matters is how I feel, and my opinion, the opinion of my coaches and the people around me like my family.’
The 25-year-old’s position as England’s first choice has come into question in recent weeks following a topsy-turvy campaign at Goodison Park.
Pickford was at fault for Divock Origi’s injury-time winner in the Merseyside derby at Anfield earlier in the season, and more recently he was criticised after his error-strewn performance in a 3-2 defeat at Newcastle United.
Indeed, his errors have led to more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League so far this season.
Speaking yesterday, Pickford denied that his form had dropped following his heroic displays for England at last summer’s World Cup.
‘Up until the Newcastle game I was doing well, and I bounced back from that with a solid performance against Chelsea,’ he said
‘Maybe I’m in the spotlight a bit more, which is new for me, but it doesn’t affect me in the game. I’ve just got to not let that criticism affect me. I’ve just got to perform when it comes to game day.
‘I don’t really look into my form too much. I know whether I’ve had a good game or a bad game. I never go into a game with any doubts. I always feel confident in my ability and hopefully I can be strong mentally.’