England national team manager Gareth Southgate revealed Arsenal right-back Ben White asked not to be included in the England squad for the March international break, MySportDab reports.
Describing his decision to snub the national team as a shame, Southgate said there is nothing between him, his coaching staff, and Ben White, and he is open to reintegrating the player into the England setup should he reconsider his decision.
However, it is understood Ben White’s rejection of the recent England call-up is not far from his bizarre experience with the team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
White, 21, quit the Three Lions squad midway through the tournament with the FA reporting that he exited the tournament due to personal reasons.
Contrary to the FA report, sources close to the Three Lions squad in the tournament revealed Ben White quit the tournament due to an open fallout with Gareth Southgate’s assistant manager Steve Holland.
Some reports claim Ben White had furiously barked at Steve Holland to ”play him now” in the tournament or he leaves.
Other reports claim Steve Holland had said something offensive to Ben White, prompting the latter to leave.
Amid claims on what really transpired between Steve Holland and Ben White, what the former actually said to the Arsenal star was yet to be unraveled.
Now, according to The Telegraph, Steve Holland had reportedly questioned Ben White’s football knowledge in front of other players in training sessions.
He had posed a question about Manchester City, who were locked in a title race with Arsenal at that time, to Ben White, who could not answer.
White is said to have been infuriated not only by the question but the public nature of the question.
He reacted furiously to the Holland and walked out of him before prematurely pulling out of the squad.
The former Brighton star is now staying put with Arsenal after snubbing Southgate’s call-up. It is yet to be determined whether he will make a U-turn on his decision or not.
