Southgate asks players to be wary of provoking opponents after Rice’s celebration v Hungary
Gareth Southgate has urged his players to be wary of provoking opponents after the celebration of West Ham ace Declan Rice against Hungary.
England resumed their World Cup qualifiers with a 4-0 win over the Hungarians on Thursday, but the match was marred with racist abuse from the hosts.
Rice replied by pretending to drink from one of the cups thrown at his teammates during their celebration, and when asked about the response of the Hammers midfielder, Southgate insists his players cannot afford to further stoke the fire.
“Declan is usually in most memes that get posted on social media in one way or another,” the Three Lions boss told The Telegraph.
“I think we needed to be a little bit careful in how our interaction with the crowd was the other day. We all recognise that certain things that happened weren’t acceptable but also we ran a little bit of a risk of inflaming some of those situations.
“So I think the players managed that quite well but I think the boys have to have at the back of their minds that humility – ‘Yes, we were playing well and we got a good result but let’s keep our professionalism and keep our focus’.
“We are going to have to play these teams again and we don’t want to give them any additional motivation by any of our actions.”
Absolutely
England players showed class despite being provoked by the awful Hungarian fans, but there was no need for Rice to attempt to further incense them through his celebration.
Nevertheless, it is understandable that the West Ham man was only trying to defend his teammates after the horrible abuses they had been subjected to all game.
FIFA are now expected to hand out deserved punishments to Hungary, and their fans do not deserve to be in the stadium if they cannot be civil during the games.
England dominated the game from start to finish, with Rice getting on the score sheet, and it is safe to say the hostile crowd spurred him and his teammates on.
The Three Lions host Andorra on Sunday evening and will be looking to seal another win that takes them closer to a place in the group stages of next summer’s World Cup in Qatar.
The Hammers ace was unplayable on Thursday, and manager David Moyes will be hoping his form can continue and even get better as his side looks to challenge across all competitions this term.
In other West Ham news, Hammers decided against last-ditch summer signing after major development .
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