Ben White isn’t interested in playing for England while Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland are in charge, according to a report.
DOHA, QATAR: Ben White of England looks on during the England Training Session at Al Wakrah Stadium on November 26, 2022. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
The Daily Mail claim Ben White has no interest in playing for England whilst manager Gareth Southgate and assistant manager Steve Holland are in charge of the team.
The report suggests White’s rift with England was sparked by Steve Holland questioning the player’s interest in football in front of other members of the squad in 2022.
That rift came to the fore in March of this year, with Southgate publicly revealing that he would have liked to call up the defender, but White wasn’t willing to accept the call.
England’s defender Ben White takes part in a training session at the Al Wakrah SC Stadium in Al Wakrah, south of Doha, on November 20, 2022. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Back in 2021, when White was first called up by England, he spoke of the emotional impact of the call.
“I got told the news [when] I was out for dinner,” White said then. “I didn’t really believe it!
“It was obviously unbelievable. [I] put the phone down, rang my mum straight away, sat down there, cried, mum was crying, my dad.
“I just sat and cried for about an hour, couldn’t really believe it and I don’t think it’s settled in yet.”
But those feelings appeared to fade when he was confronted with the realities of attending two major tournaments with England.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Ben White of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on April 23, 2024. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The Athletic report that White found it difficult being out of the team with England.
At Euro 2020, the defender was technically in the squad, but he only made the bench twice in seven games. He was fit, he was just completely left out five times in seven matches.
Then at the World Cup, White was on the bench against Iran and the USA, but he still didn’t get any minutes. During the time in between those two tournaments, he played just 135 minutes of football for England.
Southgate has since claimed that Steve Holland has nothing to do with White’s situation, but The Athletic wrote that White did have a row with the assistant manager during the World Cup camp a week before he pulled out of the squad.
If the Mail’s report is accurate and White’s decision will stand until Southgate and Holland leave, it certainly seems like his issue is with them, not with playing for England.
