You have to feel sorry for Jack Grealish. At only 19 years old, the Aston Villa man is supposed to be looking forward to the kind of day that most professional footballers can only dream about. He'll line out at the FA Cup final for his boyhood club on Saturday and all thoughts should be on beating Arsenal and becoming a Villa hero but instead there's the small issue of the national anthems to get through first.
You may say this is as a result of Grealish's choices to date but, as has been said before, it's not that simple. Grealish may or may not sing God Save The Queen on Saturday but is this really necessary.
The novelty bet was thought up by Betway and they publicised it with a press release. That was seen by Guardian journalist Amy Lawrence and she was less than enamoured with it.
Betting company offering odds on if Jack Grealish, a boy with Anglo/Irish roots, will sing God Save the Queen. Poor stunt. Give him a break!
— Amy Lawrence (@amylawrence71) May 29, 2015
Unsurprisingly, quite a few people shared Lawrence's sentiment. (Even if some were wrong about who was offering the bet)
@TheOneRam Actually it wasn't. But still. Pathetic.
— Amy Lawrence (@amylawrence71) May 29, 2015
@amylawrence71 As an Anglo-Irish person myself, I find that pretty offensive. That kind of thing encourages xenophobia/prejudice.
— Steve Shea (@SteveShea) May 29, 2015
@amylawrence71 This reminds me a little of James McClean and his problems with ‘Poppy Bullies’. Hopefully Grealish won’t suffer the same. — Steve Shea (@SteveShea) May 29, 2015
@amylawrence71 @Alan_Alger_ I'm half Irish/half English & proud of both. To pin point that song as a bet is unfair & niavie on implications
— Tony McCool (@antmccool7) May 29, 2015
@amylawrence71 Indeed a poor stunt, unfortunately there's no vacine against stupidity. — Gareth Murray (@garethcmurray) May 29, 2015
Betway representative Alan Alger outlined the fact that the market had been changed as a novelty for the Cup final and that it was not politically motivated.
@amylawrence71 it's not actually the point behind the market, the point behind the market is will he choose England or Ireland for football.
— Alan Alger (@Alan_Alger_) May 29, 2015
@amylawrence71 nothing to do with the political aspect, as it clearly states in the release. — Alan Alger (@Alan_Alger_) May 29, 2015
That may be the case and, to be fair, a lot of bookmakers have been offering a market on whether Grealish would choose Ireland or England. However it does seem rather opportunistic and unnecessary to offer a market on whether the youngster will sing a song.
It seems he'll be criticised no matter what he does so, regardless of his choice on the day, let's hope he can put it out of his mind and actually concentrate on the game.
