Why Man City’s Jack Grealish gets booed by Republic of Ireland fans

Manchester City winger Jack Grealish will be ready for the boos on Saturday evening when he travels with England to face the Republic of Ireland at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Grealish is no stranger to being the pantomime villain when representing the Blues in the Premier League but he will be expecting a particularly hostile environment in the Nations League this weekend. This is because the 28-year-old chose to refuse playing for Ireland’s senior team and instead switched to represent England.

As a youngster coming through the ranks with Aston Villa, Grealish represented the Irish at U17, U18 and U21 levels. Around this period, the winger had broken into the senior squad for his domestic club and was approached by then-manager Martin O’Neill about representing the Republic of Ireland’s first-team.

Grealish chose to reject this invitation and instead transitioned to playing for England where he made his debut for the U21s in 2016. Across all age levels, the forward has made 43 appearances for the Three Lions.

Despite this controversy taking place eight years ago, Grealish and his England teammate Declan Rice are extremely disliked for their decision to abandon the Irish national team. Speaking about the winger specifically, his friend and Ireland striker Callum Robinson warned Grealish about what is in store for him this weekend.

“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t [receive a hostile reception] because I think he gets booed anywhere he goes anyway – even in England,” Robinson told the media. “I think he’ll be getting ready for a bit of abuse but that’s part of it, it’s part of the game.

“He’s old enough and with being a senior player now, that stuff’s going to come. As I said, he gets it in English games [in the Premier League], I don’t think there will be any change on Saturday, I think he will be getting it.”

Grealish qualified for Ireland thanks to three of his grandparents. However, in an interview a few years back he explained that he made the ‘obvious’ transition to England because his parents are English and as he ‘felt English’.