Ben White says England fans may not have booed him 'if they knew the full story' over squad exile

White says England fans would understand his 2022 World Cup exit if they knew the full story, but refuses to publicly criticise anyone involved in the incident.

Ben White has broken his silence on his controversial departure from England's 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar, saying supporters would view the situation differently if they understood what happened. The Arsenal defender left the camp citing personal reasons following a reported fallout with assistant manager Steve Holland, and subsequently made himself unavailable for selection under Gareth Southgate for the remainder of his tenure.

White returned to the England setup under Thomas Tuchel in March but was booed by fans before injury ruled him out of this summer's World Cup. He appeared in a friendly against Uruguay, where he scored but also gave away a penalty.

Speaking to talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live, White said he stands by his decision and would make the same choice again, but stressed he has no intention of publicly criticising anyone involved. "There's loads of things that happened and communication wasn't great," he said, adding that he believes others have tried to throw him under the bus and he won't reciprocate.

White described the situation as "not ideal" but said it's time to move on and he's looking forward to his England story continuing.