Ben White left England camp after coach ‘bust-up’ having ‘struggled to mix’ with teammates

Will Ford
England defender Ben White touches his chin
Ben White sits on the England bench

Ben White reportedly  left the England camp after a bust-up with coach Steve Holland.

It was claimed White left the squad due to ‘personal reasons’ with England releasing the following statement:

“Ben White has left England’s training base in Al Wakrah and returned home for personal reasons.

“The Arsenal defender is not expected to return to the squad for the remainder of the tournament.

“We ask that the player’s privacy is respected at this moment in time.”

But the Daily Star claims a fall-out with Holland was the reason for what was a ‘mutual decision’ to leave the camp.

It’s claimed the Arsenal star ‘became unhappy in the England camp and struggled to mix with his fellow teammates’.

And an argument between White and Holland in front of the rest of the squad was ‘the final straw’.

Things are said to have got heated when White turned up to a team meeting ahead of England’s Group B clash with the USA not knowing ‘vital information relating to his personal stats’.

Holland was also reportedly ‘less than impressed with White’s poor knowledge of England’s American opponents’.

The FA declined to comment, while White’s agent failed to respond when contacted.

White was followed home by Raheem Sterling, who didn’t feature in Sunday’s last-16 win against Senegal due to concerns over his family’s wellbeing following an incident at his home in Surrey.

But unlike White, Sterling is returning to Doha and is set to join back up with the England squad on Friday ahead of the quarter-final against France.

An FA statement on Thursday – coincidentally Sterling’s birthday – read: “Raheem Sterling will return to England’s World Cup base in Qatar.

“The Chelsea forward temporarily left to attend to a family matter but is now expected to rejoin the squad in Al Wakrah on Friday (9 December) ahead of the quarter-final with France.”

Sterling wanted assurances that his family were safe – with additional security measures worked through – before returning to Qatar, having departed due to what the FA announced was a “family matter”.

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