A fresh theory on why Ben White quit England’s camp at the 2022 World Cup has emerged after the Arsenal defender returned to the international fold over the past week.
White, 28, famously went home from Qatar during the group stage of the tournament, but there was limited information on what had actually caused his exit.
He had not played for England since, rejecting the chance to rejoin Southgate’s squads, and only returned to the set-up as a late replacement for the injured Jarell Quansah for this month’s international break – before he came off the bench in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay.
Reports since 2022 suggested White’s departure from the group came as a result of an issue with Gareth Southgate‘s assistant coach, Steve Holland, although that has never been confirmed.
However, talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham has now made a fresh claim about what happened and urged White to come out and provide clarity.
‘This is what I’m led to understand has happened with Ben White,’ Durham said. ‘The players were told to watch videos of opponents and they were given videos on their laptops, iPads, whatever it was.
‘He decided not to and the England analysts knew, because they had the tech, who had and who hadn’t watched the videos.
‘When asked about it, Ben White got really upset about it to the point where he quit England.
‘If that is true, why on earth would Thomas Tuchel want him back in the squad when he’s not prepared to put the hard yards in to be as good as he possibly can against the opponents England are up against.
‘If it’s not true, I apologise, but let’s have the flipping truth.’
Former England defender Danny Mills, who is a good friend of Gareth Southgate, also played down the reports of a row between Holland and White and insisted that maybe the situation had been overplayed.
‘There has been no story that has ever come out of the World Cup when Ben White left to say that Gareth did something wrong or Steve Holland did something wrong,’ he said.
‘There is no way on this planet in four years that if there was a big story that would have not come out because a player would have told an agent or a friend that somebody would know and that story would be out there.
‘So first and foremost, there is no story as opposed to a member of staff mistreating the player in that way.’
He continued: ‘Now, let’s flip it the other way round. Ben White needs to explain why he walked out of an England camp in a World Cup.
‘I don’t understand why no one has asked the question, why nobody seems brave enough to ask that question.’
Meanwhile, White made a chaotic England return after coming off the bench for Fikayo Tomori in the 69th minute against Uruguay.
As his name was announced, large swathes of the Wembley crowd jeered in protest at his controversial return.
White, whose previous international cap came against Ivory Coast on March 29, 2022, quickly silenced the boo boys however, as he scored to put England ahead just 12 minutes after coming off the bench.
However, White returned to being the villain in added time as he gave away a penalty after he was adjudged to have fouled Federico Vinas following a VAR review, and Federico Valverde tucked home the spot kick to rescue a draw for Uruguay.
‘It was too good to be true when he scored the winner which in the end was not a winner,’ England boss Tuchel said of White’s display. ‘In the end he was perhaps too greedy in his defensive actions but it was not a penalty.’
On the boos, he added: ‘This happened before to some players here which is disappointing because I don’t think it helps anyone. There was a mixed reaction.’
