Declan Rice’s decision to play for England rather than the Republic of Ireland has caused huge controversy.
And the defensive midfielder has explained that he even turned off his mobile knowing he would receive plenty of abuse.
It did and he was also forced to close down an Instagram string because of the hate comments he was receiving.
Virtually everybody who needs to have a say has done so amd the feelings on both sides of the debate are easily understandable.
However, with the decision made it’s probably time to move on and with Steve Hollans, England’s assistant boss having watched a goal scoring performance from Dec on Saturday his chances of landing his first cap later this month look more than promising.
One man who has been doing his best through the problems surrounding the decision making progress is Mark Noble who himself grew up being eligible for both countries.
He declared in the Daily Mail: ‘I spoke to him a lot about it.
‘I made a decision a long time ago. When I was a kid I didn’t dream of playing for Ireland — and there are kids out there who dreamed of playing for Ireland.
‘As soon as his name comes out and he is in that England squad, apart from his mum and dad, his brothers and maybe his girlfriend, I will be the next proudest because I have seen him come through.’