Ben Foster has jumped to the defence of Ben White after the Arsenal defender rejected the chance to join up with the England squad ahead of the March international break.
White has not played for the Three Lions since March 2022 but was selected for the World Cup in Qatar later that year. However, the 26-year-old left the camp midway through the tournament for 'personal reasons', sparking suggestions that he was involved in a bust-up with assistant manager Steve Holland.
Now, the ex-Brighton and Leeds centre-back has been in fine form for the Gunners this season but did not wish to be considered for the latest England squad. That is a decision, which frustrated Southgate, who revealed that he had received a call from Arsenal director Edu asking him not to include White in his plans.
White has since been criticised by many - none more so than by former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp - for his decision to reject a call-up. But ex-England and Manchester United goalkeeper Foster, who also snubbed a call-up due to personal reasons earlier in his career, shared a more measured view.
"It's hard to know exactly what Ben White is like as a character," Foster said on his podcast The Fozcast. "There's been loads of stories floating around before about the fact that he doesn't particularly like football away from it.
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"Obviously when he turns up to his day job at Arsenal he trains very well. See him on a Saturday afternoon he's been one of the best right-backs in the Premier League this season.
"But when it comes to all the other stuff, I get the vibe that he doesn't really enjoy it all, he doesn’t like the show of it all, especially going away with England.
"It's a two-week period where he can have a real rest, a real shutdown, escape from it all, not have to worry about football and when you're somebody that doesn't particularly love all of that stuff, all the trappings that come with being a footballer, that is a real great chance."
Ben White turned down an England call-up for the latest fixtures (Getty Images)Foster, who retired last year after a stint with Wrexham, received eight England caps but snubbed a call-up earlier in his career for personal reasons. "My kids were just being born and I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing when I was away with England," Foster explained. "I knew I was going there basically just to make up the numbers.
"I didn't really get too much respect from Fabio Capello. My son was born, I rushed off to the birth and I was on the phone to him later on that night. Capello said: 'We need you back, there's an England game tomorrow you need to be on the bench,' and I was like: 'Do I really need to be on the bench? I've just had my son it would be really nice to spend some time with him'.
"He's like: 'No you're going to play the second-half'. I didn't play the second half! I left, I came back, sat on the bench, did not get a minute of football and I just thought: 'I don’t like that'. That goes beyond it for me.
"So at the next international camp, I said I'm not going to be joining up with the squad because I'd rather spend it with my family with my newborn children and that’s the way I saw it. I really enjoyed that time."
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