Former England goalkeeper Ben Foster has defended Ben White’s decision to reject a Gareth Southgate call-up ahead of the international break.
The Arsenal star last played for England two years ago, in March 2022, but was initially included in the manager’s World Cup squad for Qatar later that year.
The 26-year-old left the camp midway through the campaign for ‘personal reasons’ – with suggestions White had been involved in a disagreement with assistant coach Steve Holland, which was strenuously denied by Southgate last week.
But during his squad announcement, the England head coach also revealed that he had received a call from Arsenal director Edu, specifically asking him not to include White in his plans for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium at the player’s request.
Reactions to White’s criticism of the national team were met with mixed feelings, but the former Wrexham shot-stopper had an empathetic view on why White might have made the difficult decision to call time – at least temporarily – on his international career.
Ben White has decided not to make himself available to Gareth Southgate for the latest round of international friendlies
The Arsenal right-back told his technical director Edu to inform the manager (right) that he should not be selected for the squad
Former Wrexham and Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster has shared his empathy with the player
Your browser does not support iframes.
“It’s hard to know exactly what Ben White is like as a character,” Foster said on his podcast The Fozcast. “There’s been a lot of stories going around about how he doesn’t really like football when he’s out there.
‘It’s clear he trains very well when he comes to his day job at Arsenal. If you see him on a Saturday afternoon, he is one of the best right-backs in the Premier League this season.
‘But when it comes to all that other stuff, I get the impression he doesn’t really enjoy it, he doesn’t like the show, especially when he goes away with England.
‘It’s a two-week period where he can really rest, really shut down, escape from everything, not have to worry about football and if you’re someone who doesn’t really like all that stuff, all those trappings that come with in being a footballer, that’s a really great opportunity.’
Foster, who has eight caps at international level, then revealed he had also turned down a call-up early in his career for personal reasons, against the backdrop of being a second-choice goalkeeper.
“My children had just been born and I knew I wouldn’t be playing while I was away in England,” Foster continued. “I knew I was really just going there to make up the numbers.
‘I didn’t really get much respect from Fabio Capello. My son was born, I rushed to the delivery and called him later that evening.
‘He said, ‘We need you back, tomorrow there’s a game against England, you have to be on the bench’, and I thought, ‘Do I really have to be on the bench? I just had my son, it would be really nice to spend some time with him.”
Foster (center) also discussed his own experiences of turning down an offer from England in an attempt to suggest new motives for White’s decision
‘He said, “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, didn’t get a minute of football and just thought: “I don’t like that”. For me it goes further than that.
“So at the next international camp I said I wouldn’t join the team because I would rather spend it with my family and my newborn children, and that’s how I saw it. I really enjoyed that time.’
The former West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United goalkeeper also concluded that England’s setup could be at odds with White’s ‘character’.
“You have to put yourself in Ben White’s shoes again,” Foster added. ‘If he doesn’t like new environments, new people…
‘He may be an anxious character, you just don’t know what these types of people are like.
‘I belong to him. If he enjoys you, know those international holidays, get away from it all, relax, then power to you, mate.’
After news broke of his decision to remove himself from the squad, White also received support from Jermaine Jenas, who emphasized that he believed the player ultimately “has his own reasons why he feels it’s best for him not to to be selected for England’.
“Not everyone is the same in football,” he added. ‘We like to put players in a box, like: “You have to fight for your country”.
‘It could be a football reason. It could be like, “What’s the point of me going if I’m not going to play?”
White last played for England during the March international break two years ago
But former Three Lions teammate Conor Coady had a more reflective personal view, saying he was ‘saddened’ to see White’s ‘great character’ was not involved in the scheme.
“He’s a great boy first and foremost,” the Leicester defender stressed. “How he trains, how he goes about his business, he’s top notch.”
Foster reiterated this after speaking to White’s ‘keeper at the Emirates Aaron Ramsdale, who is said to have told the veteran that the player is a ‘top boy’.
“Ben White is a top, top guy,” Ramsdale reportedly told Foster, “don’t worry about that (staff cut rumours), none of it is true, he’s just a top guy.” boy”.’
