England fans baffled as Declan Rice appears to refuse captain’s armband against former team Ireland
ENGLAND fans were left confused after Declan Rice appeared to refuse the captain's armband against the Republic of Ireland.
The Arsenal midfielder made three senior caps for Ireland before switching his allegiance to England in 2019.
After being welcomed by derogatory "snake" banners and loud boos from Irish fans, Rice scored England's opener inside 12 minutes.
The Premier League star then humbly refused to celebrate after representing Ireland in his youth through his grandparents.
Rice subsequently declined the captain's armband when skipper Harry Kane was being substituted off in the final five minutes.
The 25-year-old took a step back and pointed towards John Stones who was coming on for Kane.
The Three Lions' top goalscorer then obliged by walking away from Rice and handing over the reigns to Stones.
The exact reason behind Rice's refusal of the armband is unclear, it could be because he recognised Stones as next in the squad hierarchy.
One England fan posted on X: "Hahahaha Declan Rice is doing too much now, he doesn’t want the armband and he didn’t celebrate after scoring."
An Ireland fan wrote: "Declan Rice is not celebrating his goal or taking the captain's armband from Kane.
"Stop being woke man just take it, not like we give enough of a s**t to care at this stage."
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While another noted: "After speaking to Rice, Kane has given the armband to John Stones instead. Weird."
Jack Grealish, who doubled England's lead, was also met with a brutally frosty reaction from home fans inside the Aviva Stadium.
Both the Manchester City ace and Rice were targeted by boos and jeers with both having ‘betrayed’ Ireland in the eyes of fans.
Grealish, though, did not hold back after scoring, as he fist-pumped the air in front of the travelling supporters.
He also stuck his fingers in his ears in a statement to silence his critics.
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