Ben White says England fans may not have booed him 'if they knew the full story' over squad exile

Ben White believes England supporters would not boo him if they knew the complete story behind his departure from the 2022 World Cup squad.

However, the Arsenal defender maintains that he has no intention to "throw anyone under the bus" by speaking out about the incident.

White left the national camp in Qatar citing "personal reasons", following a reported fallout with assistant manager Steve Holland, and subsequently ruled himself out of selection for the remainder of Sir Gareth Southgate’s time in charge.

Though he returned under Thomas Tuchel in March, White was booed by supporters before injury ruled him out of this summer’s World Cup.

His comeback was eventful during a friendly against Uruguay, where he scored and later gave away a penalty.

“I think before the game, I was thinking, just don’t…not stand out, but just nice and easy, you know,” he added.

“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.”

The 29-year-old says he stands by his decision of four years ago, but is looking forward to his “story continuing”.

“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.”

He added on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I don’t think I would (change decision).

“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.”

The basis of White’s alleged falling out with Holland is thought to be over an interview where the Arsenal defender admitted to not watching football on television.

He said: “To be fair, I don’t. I don’t know if I actually said I don’t like it because people say I don’t like football, which is obviously not true.

“It’s because I don’t watch it, which I think is quite normal for someone who does a job and then doesn’t go home and then continue watching that job.

“But I think it’s my way of release from the game because it’s so intense, obviously.”