White had 'angry exchange' in England camp before rejecting Southgate call-up

15 March 2024 , 07:57

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Ben White last played for England in 2022 (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Ben White was reportedly involved in an 'angry exchange' with England assistant manager Steve Holland during the World Cup in Qatar.

The Arsenal defender hasn't played for his country since before the tournament in 2022, having left the camp early, and on Thursday it was confirmed that White, 26, currently doesn't want to be considered for selection. That's much to the frustration of Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate, who'd planned to include the right-sided defender in his 25-man squad which he announced on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of England's friendly doubler-header against Brazil and Belgium, Southgate explained: "Clearly on form I can't sit here and say he doesn't deserve to be in. We had a call from Edu (Arsenal's sporting director) last week (and he) said Ben didn't want to be considered for England squads at this time.

"For me that is a great shame. He is a player we took to the Euros, a player we took to the World Cup and I spoke to him post-Qatar because I wanted to pick him."

In the wake of Southgate's comments, details have emerged of a bust-up between White and Holland in the Middle East. According to the Athletic, the pair engaged in a war of words in front of other England players as Holland didn't think that White was taking on board the information which he was given about opposition tactics and training data.

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The report goes on to state that Southgate's No.2 also raised the fact that White has publicly admitted he isn't interested in football beyond his own career.

In November 2022, the former Brighton and Leeds star confessed: "Sitting down and watching a 90-minute game after I've trained all day and had four or five meetings about football, the last thing I want to do is watch more football."

Your turn! Would Ben White get into England's starting XI? Join the debate in the comments section.

Steve Holland reportedly called out Ben White (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

The Arsenal defender has made himself unavailable for selection (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

White left the England camp for personal reasons and there's no suggestion in the report that this was because of the incident with Holland. The 26-year-old has been in excellent form of late, leaving Southgate disappointed with his decision.

"He is not available to us and there is no issue between us at all and I also should say there is never any issue with (coach) Steve Holland because that has been mentioned in articles and I don't like that," the England manager reiterated. "I want that door wide open. He would be in this squad but he’s not available to us and I have to focus on who can help us."

Nathan Ridley