Alan Shearer wants message passed on to Jack Grealish after his emphatic Ireland celebration

Alan Shearer wants Micah Richards to say “well done” to Jack Grealish over his wild goal celebration against the Republic of Ireland.

Grealish and his England team-mate Rice were met with incessant boos from the Irish supporters when they visited Aviva Stadium, Dublin, in Saturday’s Nations League fixture. Both players represented Ireland earlier in their careers but switched allegiances to the Three Lions, with Grealish playing for Ireland’s youth teams while Rice played three senior friendly matches.

The Ireland fans’ hostile reception came back to bite them as both players got on the scoresheet to give England a 2-0 victory. Rice did not celebrate after opening the scoring in the 11th minute, holding up his hands as a sign of respect for his heritage.

But Grealish did no such thing, triggering more jeers by punching the air with joy after finding the bottom corner in the 26th minute. His bold celebration delighted the travelling England supporters, as well as Newcastle United hero Shearer.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the legendary former striker said: “I loved Grealish, he said, ‘sod that, I’m going to celebrate’. I get Declan not wanting to celebrate, but Grealish was having none of it. I loved it.”

Gary Lineker added: “Why wouldn’t you celebrate? I totally get Declan because he played for the Republic of Ireland and he had to make that real decision. He definitely didn’t want to celebrate!”

Grealish’s former Aston Villa team-mate Richards chimed in: “So did Grealish, he played for Ireland at youth level!” leading Shearer to say: “Brilliant celebration, loved it all day. Tell him ‘well done’, Micah!”

Lineker, previously England’s top goal-scorer, went on to joke that Grealish was “rubbing salt into the Irish wounds”.

Grealish said in his post-match comments that he had expected the harsh reception but maintained there was no “bad blood” with the Ireland supporters. “It was what me and Dec expected. I said before the game, I think it is different,” the Manchester City star explained.

“Me and Dec have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time with Ireland. I certainly did, and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there is no bad blood from my side.”