The star from Arsenal will be absent from the English national team’s lineup, stemming from a significant incident that occurred during the World Cup in Qatar.
It caught attention when England’s manager Gareth Southgate last week explained why he didn’t select Arsenal’s right-back Ben White for the national team.
“I can’t sit here and say he [Ben White] doesn’t deserve to be on the team. We received a call from Edu [Arsenal’s sporting director], where he mentioned that Ben didn’t want to be considered for the team,” Southgate said.
Now, the media outlet Telegraph has revealed why the Arsenal player is reluctant to play for England.
The issue revolves around an incident that occurred during the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 – an incident that also led Ben White to leave the tournament early.
According to Telegraph, assistant coach Steve Holland asked another right-back, Kyle Walker, about Manchester City’s season and then posed the same question to Ben White regarding Arsenal’s season.
When White was unable to answer the question, Holland allegedly commented that the right-back wasn’t interested enough in football.
What particularly troubled White, as reported by Telegraph, was that this exchange took place in front of a group of his teammates. He felt that he wasn’t treated with the necessary respect by the England assistant.
Ben White, aged 26, has played four matches for England but hasn’t appeared for the national team since 2022.
