Former England player Chris Waddle has sharply criticised Arsenal defender Ben White, saying he should never play for the national team again after leaving the squad before the 2022 World Cup.
White left the England squad at the time for personal reasons. It was reported that his departure was linked to a disagreement with former assistant coach Steve Holland. However, the defender has since been recalled under Thomas Tuchel.
In an interview with talkSPORT, White explained why he did not want to discuss the events of 2022 in detail.
I haven't spoken about it before and I'm not going to go into detail.
Yes, I made a decision not to speak badly about anyone or make other people out to be at fault.
Obviously, the situation was far from ideal, but I'd probably do the same again now.
A lot happened at the time and the communication between people wasn't the best. I don't want to make anyone out to be at fault. I think a lot of people tried to do that to me, so I wouldn't want to do the same to others.
Waddle, however, believes the defender's return was a mistake. The former England player told iGaming.com:
Look, Ben White shouldn't be in the England squad. That's my opinion.
He refused to represent his country. I'm surprised Thomas brought him back into the team. I don't understand why he did it.
Maybe England are short of full-backs. But when a footballer refuses to play for his country, as Ben White did, for me that's a lifetime ban. I'd tell him: “Forget it, mate. As long as I'm here, you're not coming back.”
He doesn't even play every game for Arsenal, so his call-up surprises me. I think if he takes to the pitch, England fans will show what they think of what he did. You can't refuse to play for your country and say: “I'm not interested in international football.” Very few footballers have ever done anything like that, and even fewer have managed to resume their international careers afterwards.
If you've refused to play for your country once, there should be a mark next to your name meaning you'll never get the chance to wear an England shirt again. That's it.
You can say now: “The situation was different then and it's different now.” But he knew exactly what he was doing. If he didn't want to play then, why does he want to now? Again, he isn't even Arsenal's regular first-choice right-back.
Yes, he's versatile and can play at centre-back. But from Tuchel's point of view, it's a very strange decision. I don't think he needed to call White up at all.
Some England fans booed White while he was playing for the national team in March. Despite that, Tuchel again named the Arsenal defender in his squad for the November matches.
