By OkayGoal
Ben White says England fans would not boo him if they knew the truth behind his abrupt exit from the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
The Arsenal defender withdrew from the squad and flew home midway through the tournament in Qatar due to “personal reasons”. A falling out with assistant coach Steve Holland was reported to be the reason behind his departure.
White ruled himself out of selection for the rest of Gareth Southgate’s tenure, only returning in March when recalled by Thomas Tuchel. The 29-year-old was booed by England supporters in both friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan.
Over four years on from the World Cup saga, White says he would not change his decision and does not want to “throw anyone under the bus” by speaking about it now.
Ben White: England fans wouldn’t boo me if they knew the truth
“It’s something that I’ve not spoken about, and I won’t go into detail about it,” White told talkSPORT. “Yes, it’s a decision that I don’t want to be talking about anyone negatively or throwing anyone under the bus.
“It was obviously not an ideal situation, and (a decision) that I probably still would make.
“There’s loads of things that happened and communication wasn’t great.
“It’s something that I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus. I think there’s a lot of people who tried to do that to me. So it’s something that I wouldn’t want to do to someone else.”
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Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, White added: “Obviously, I was a bit younger. I’m a bit older now. I think, as a person, I’m quite real, and I think I made the decision that I would probably continue to make.
“It’s one that I’m not happy about, but obviously it happened, it’s time to move on.
“It’s such a privilege to ever get close to playing for your country, something I probably didn’t even dream of because I didn’t think it would be anywhere near my reality.
“There’s been a few bumps, I’m obviously here now, and looking forward to this story continuing.”
White’s return to England duty was more eventful than he would have liked. He was booed before scoring a goal and then giving away a late penalty after coming off the bench against Uruguay.
“I think before the game, I was thinking, just don’t… not stand out, but just nice and easy, you know,” he said.
“Then I came on and obviously get booed. Then I score. Then I give away a pen. So it was obviously full of emotions that night, and it was a good night.
“Everyone can do whatever they want. You know, it’s fine with me. Whatever they want to do, and I think just think about maybe not knowing the full story.
“And if they did, maybe they wouldn’t.”
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