Ben White was booed by England fans as he made his return to international football after four years following a self-imposed exile.
Arsenal defender White, 28, famously walked out on England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
White decided to quit camp after the group stage because of what was thought to be an issue with Gareth Southgate’s assistant coach, Steve Holland.
He has not played for England since, rejecting the chance to rejoin Southgate’s squads, and only this week has he returned to the set-up as a late replacement for the injured Jarrell Quansah.
In the 69th minute of Friday’s friendly clash with Uruguay, White was then brought on by Thomas Tuchel to replace Fikayo Tomori.
However, as his name was announced, large swathes of the Wembley crowd booed in protest at his controversial return.
Ben White was booed by England fans as he made his international return after four years
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 later.
Cole Palmer’s corner was hooked on by Dominic Calvert-Lewin and White tapped home from less than a yard out.
It was previously revealed that White had taken exception to comments by Holland, and maintained afterwards that he would not return to the group.
Holland allegedly questioning White’s interest in football while England were in Qatar in November 2022. The 28-year-old has previously said he doesn’t watch football and was never a fan when he was younger.
Southgate’s assistant reportedly asked Kyle Walker a question related to Manchester City’s performances in the previous season, before posing the same question to White in regards to Arsenal.
He allegedly claimed he did not know the answer, leading Holland to claim that was down to his lack of interest in football.
The conversation is said to have happened in front of other members of the squad. White was particularly upset by the public nature of the conversation, rather than by Holland’s specific comment.
White was so steadfast in his conviction that he would not end his exile that he organised for his 2023 wedding to model Milly Adams to take place during an international break – long before the squad was even announced.
In March 2024 Southgate revealed that former Arsenal sporting director Edu had called him and FA technical John McDermott and revealed that White ‘did not want to be considered for England squads at this time’. This ruled White out of an international return ahead of Euro 2024, Southgate’s last tournament in charge.
His decision to refuse to play under Southgate led to heavy criticism. Indeed, former England captain Stuart Pearce was particularly scathing in his assessment, claiming that if players let you down once, ‘they will always let you down’.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, however, defended his player, saying he was ‘brave’ to remove himself from contention after ‘struggling’ with the national side. He also strongly disputed that the player did not care about representing his country.
‘It certainly wasn’t about that,’ Arteta said. ‘It was about being the opposite, just facing the situation and saying: “I cannot handle it now, and I am not the best person to represent the country the way I feel right now.” For me, it was completely the opposite. I think not a lot of people would do it.
‘What a lot of people would do is hide in that context, in that environment, and let time go and nobody talks about it. What he did in my opinion was very brave. Not a lot of people would have done it.’
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