Gareth Southgate’s Steve Holland claim disputed as ‘real reason’ for Ben White’s England boycott revealed
Gareth Southgate insisted Ben White's self-imposed England exile has nothing to do with Steve Holland.
However, reports now claim the Arsenal defender's voluntary absence from the Three Lions squad was indeed caused by a comment made by their assistant coach.
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Speaking to the press ahead of England's final two friendlies before Euro 2024, Southgate addressed the Holland rumours as he revealed White did not want to be part of the camp due to a 'reticence' on part of the player.
He added: "Also, I should say there’s never any issue with Steve Holland [and White], because that has sort of been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that."
But according to , it was Holland that caused White to leave the England squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At the time, the Football Association stated the cause for his departure was for 'personal reasons'.
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But the new Telegraph report states it was in fact due to a conversation between the player and Holland in front of other members of the squad.
It is claimed Holland asked Kyle Walker a question relating to Manchester City's performance in the previous season, then asked White the same question.
When White did not know the answer, Holland reportedly responded by saying that was because White was not sufficiently interested in football.
That is the moment that is said to have caused the player to ask to return to England on November 30.
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The request was apparently received days after the conversation, with Southgate and his staff believing there was no longer an issue between the pair.
White and Holland did exchange their views in a private conversation on the same day, according to the report.
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It is widely acknowledged that White does not like watching football, with the player himself admitting that on several occasions.
It is understood White took particular issue with the comment being made in public, in front of his teammates and made him question the levels of respect there.
The decision to not be part of this month's games against Brazil and Belgium was communicated through Edu, Arsenal's sporting director to his FA counterpart John McDermott.
Both the FA and White have so far declined to comment on the issue.
Last week, Southgate also added on the reports of Holland and White's fall-out: "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 almost stomach that.
"But I’m not prepared for that to happen for a key member of my coaching team because that is not the reason Ben is unavailable for selection."
On the day England's squad was announced, Arsenal confirmed their defender had signed a new deal, keeping him at the club until 2028 with a further one-year option.
The Gunners have indicated this was a coincidence and it was always planned for that day.
England will face Brazil on Saturday and then Belgium on Tuesday. You can listen to both games live on talkSPORT.
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