3 reasons why Ben White is right to reject Gareth Southgate

3. How England handled it says it all

As eluded to, England have gone about this in the incorrect way. Gareth Southgate name-dropped Edu as the representative for White, who reportedly called the England team to inform them that White did not wish to be included in the squad. This sets a bad precedent and suggests that White was being sneaky behind the scenes to get out of international duty.

If outing players to the English media, who are known to be ruthless, is the norm in the England international team's culture, then White is within his own right to neglect those duties. After all, he's better off at Arsenal, who protect ALL of their players from media-hounding, not just the manager's favourites.

At the end of it, it all boils down to respecting the player's decision. No player HAS to play for their country. As much as we joke about it, Ben White doesn't even like football that much (as hilarious as that is to say). Therefore, why would he voluntarily sit on a freezing cold bench for 90 minutes?

Do you think Ben White was right or wrong to turn down international duty with England?