ENGLAND legends Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have slammed Ben White’s international exile as “a mess” and urged peace talks.
Arsenal supporters were fuming when White was left out of Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man squad for Euro 2024.
The 26-year-old defender has been in top form this season and helped the Gunners push Manchester City to the final day in the Premier League title fight.
Despite that, White joined the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jordan Henderson, Ben Chilwell and Reece James to be left at home.
Southgate admitted that he did not speak to the ex-Brighton ace about being in the squad.
The star, who has just four caps, has not been in the England squad since he went home in mysterious circumstances during the Qatar World Cup, with rumours claiming there was a row in the camp with Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland.
Now Lineker and Shearer, who both played for England in World Cup and European Championship semi-finals respectively, have called the whole thing a “shame”.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Rest is Football podcast they want to see the issue resolved like “grown-ups”.
Lineker said: “I think Ben White’s had an absolutely brilliant season, he’s a superb player.
“I just hope and wish there was a way that Gareth Southgate could make his peace with him and get him out there.
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“Obviously, with the injuries England have got at the moment, particularly back positions, and I suspect he could play anywhere across the back as he was a central defender, I think he’d be a really good addition.”
Lineker then speculated on the alleged fall-out with Holland in Qatar before Shearer jumped in.
The Newcastle icon said: “Bloody hell man, you’ve got a Euros tournament, you’ve had a season like Ben White has had and he’s not going to be in that England squad…
“It’s just such a shame. Come on guys, whatever the reason, you’ve got to sit down and clear the air and say ‘let’s just sort this out for the sake of our country’.
“You’ve got an unbelievable chance of winning the Euros yet he’s not going to play a part in that after the season he’s had.
“What a mess. What a shame.”
That led to Lineker adding: “I totally agree. Just sit down around a table, you know, things happen in football.
“You have fall-outs but come on, we are all grown-ups here.”
When asked about White’s absence on Tuesday, Southgate said: “I didn’t speak to Ben, as far as I know he’s not available to us.”
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White came under immense criticism for his decision NOT to be available for England selection in March ahead of their friendlies with Brazil and Belgium.
He has been victim to cruel chants from the stands during away matches, in particular at former club Brighton and Wolves this month.
But White’s agent Alexander Levack spoke out in support of his client, asking people not to judge or criticise decisions without full knowledge of the situation.
Levack posted on LinkedIn: “I feel compelled to write this today after such a great performance last night [against Chelsea], and all season for that matter.
“For the past 4 weeks Ben has been in the press and media a great deal in that time with a large percentage of that being negative.
“Whilst I appreciate that Ben is in the public eye which brings its own connotations and leaves you open to criticism, I wanted to make the point that every elite performer, whichever field that may be, is a human being who has the same feeling we all have and experience good and bad.
“No one knows what is actually going on in one’s life so I really believe people should think before making a judgement or criticising these elite performers in public.
“Ben has shown unbelievable robustness and strength throughout this adverse period off the pitch and has blocked out all the noise and has performed incredibly well on the pitch, in a situation where many others could have and would have wilted.
“Ben has an incredible temperament and attitude which allows him the ability to navigate through his working and personal life.
“I suppose the main message is be kind to people as you do not have the full facts, which in Ben’s case neither Ben nor I wish to vocalise publicly, and do not know what is going on in people’s personal lives so again please be kind.”
Here’s how the star’s career has progressed to date:
Clubs:
Brighton (2016-2021)
36 apps
Newport (2017-18 loan)
42 apps 1 goal
Peterborough (2019 loan)
15 apps 1 goal
Leeds United (2019/20 loan)
46 apps 1 goal
Arsenal (2021-present)
107 apps 6 goals
*League appearances only
England caps:
4
England debut:
vs Austria, June 2021
Last England cap:
vs Ivory Coast, March 2022
Gareth Southgate on White’s Euro 2024 squad absence:
“I didn’t speak to Ben, as far as I know he’s not available to us.”
After White’s decision to stay away from the England set-up two months ago, Southgate denied reports of a rift with Holland while explaining: “He’s clearly playing very well and has been for a long time.
“But he’s not the first player who, at certain times, hasn’t wanted to be available for selection.
“I’ve always tried to protect those players because I always want the door to be left open, even though on lots of those occasions I’m the one who gets it in the neck for not picking them and people don’t know the reasons.
“There’s no issue between us and there was never any issue with Steve Holland. That has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.
“People can talk about me and I have to accept that things get said that are false, about me. For whatever reason in this role, you have to stomach that.
“But I’m not prepared for that to happen to a key member of my coaching team. That is not the reason Ben is not available for selection.”
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