Ben White snubbed England over 'disrespectful' comment as Arsenal star's World Cup exit FINALLY explained

Ben White's self-Imposed England exile is a result of barb from coach Steve Holland in front of his teammates during the 2022 World Cup camp in Qatar.

The Arsenal star mysteriously left the Middle East after asking Gareth Southgate if he could withdraw from the squad as speculation raged over the reason for his sudden departure. Now the Telegraph reports that the former Brighton defender - who famously admitted he doesn't take much interest in football when not playing - felt disrespected by Holland. They claim that Holland initially asked Kyle Walker a question regarding Man City's performances the previous season.

White was asked the same about the Gunners, but reportedly told Holland he didn't know the answer. Holland's alleged response was that was because White wasn't interested enough in the game, and that led to White asking if he could head home from the tournament early before leaving Doha and returning to England.

Another conversation between the pair took place in the days leading up to White's exit, but boss Southgate and his staff assumed that there was no issue between White and Holland. The 26-year-old hasn't played for his country since, and recently made himself unavailable for selection.

Southgate said last week: “As I’ve said, in these situations I’ve tried to protect players. Clearly that is impossible at this point. Because the timing of asking to come off the long-list, and the fact that… I don’t have huge credibility if I didn’t pick him on form! I don’t think it would be right not to state the situation we’re in.

“We’ve explained to Arsenal we were going to do that. And if you make a decision like that, you do have to stand by it. But like I say, I want to keep the door open [for White]. I don’t