According to reports, Ben White, an Arsenal defender, has decided not to play for the England national team again as long as Steve Holland and Gareth Southgate are in control.
The Daily Mail claims that White’s disagreement with assistant manager Steve Holland, who reportedly questioned White’s commitment to football in front of the squad in 2022, is the root of his indifference in playing for England.
When Southgate acknowledged that he intended to call up White but the defender turned down the invitation, the tension came to light in March of this year. The tense relationship stands in stark contrast to White’s first response, which he described as an intensely emotional and overpowering experience, following his England call-up in 2021.
“I received the news while out to supper. I found it hard to believe! I immediately called my mother, sat down, and started crying. My dad was crying too. White recalled, “I just sat and cried for about an hour.”
White’s excitement, meanwhile, appeared to fade following his experiences with England in two significant tournaments. Despite being in the squad, he was benched in five of the seven matches at Euro 2020 and did not appear at all.
In the same way, he did not play any minutes in the World Cup matches against Iran and the USA and instead sat on the bench. White played just 135 minutes for England in the interval between these tournaments.
According to reports from The Athletic, White found it difficult to get any playing time throughout these competitions. A week prior to White’s departure from the team, they also reported an altercation between White and Holland at the World Cup training camp. Although Holland’s influence on White’s predicament has been minimised by Southgate, ongoing rumours point to a serious divide.
If the Daily Mail’s allegations are true, White seems to be targeting Southgate and Holland in particular rather than the England team as a whole with his unwillingness to play for them. This looks to be the one that will remain till the administration of England changes.