'YOU DON'T HAVE THE FULL FACTS' - BEN WHITE'S AGENT BREAKS SILENCE ON ENGLAND CRITICISM
The agent of Ben White has penned a passionate defence of the Arsenal star and says the public still don’t know the ‘full facts’ over his decision to decline an England call-up.
White, 26, faced a backlash last month from pundits and England supporters after Gareth Southgate revealed he had made himself unavailable for selection for the national team.
Various reports and rumours have emerged since regarding the reasons behind White’s England snub, with the defender believed to have had an ‘angry exchange’ with Three Lions assistant Steve Holland – though Southgate denied that.
White has shown no signs of the furore surrounding his England decision affecting his performances for Arsenal, and he delivered another superb display in his side’s 5-0 dismantling of Chelsea on Tuesday night.
White netted twice and helped record yet another clean sheet and now his agent, Alexander Levack, has hit out at the criticism that came the former Brighton man’s way and says the full story behind his England snub has still yet to come out.
‘I feel compelled to write this today after such a great performance last night, and all season for that matter, from client Ben White,’ wrote Levack on LinkedIn on Wednesday.
‘For the past four weeks Ben has been in the press and media a great deal in that time with a large percentage of that being negative.
‘Whilst I appreciate that Ben is in the public eye which brings its own connotations and leaves you open to criticism, I wanted to make the point that every elite performer, whichever field that may be, is a human being who has the same feelings we all have and experience – good and bad.
‘No-one knows what is actually going on in one’s life so I really believe people should think before making a judgement or criticising these elite performers in public.
‘Ben has shown unbelievable robustness and strength throughout this adverse period off the pitch and blocked out all the noise.
‘He has performed incredibly well on the pitch in a situation where many others could have, and would have, wilted.
‘Ben has an incredible temperament and attitude which allows him the ability to navigate through his working and personal life.
‘I suppose the main message is be kind to people as you do not have the full facts – which in Ben’s case neither Ben nor I wish to vocalise publicly – and do not know what is going on in people’s personal lives so, again, please be kind.’
Southgate did not close the door on White potentially returning to the England setup for the Euros this summer, though it would likely require a number of injuries to his preferred right-backs and a U-turn from the Arsenal man.
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2024-04-24T18:01:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd