Ben White’s agent has hit back at critics of the Arsenal star and says ‘no-one knows what’s going on in his life’.
The defender has come under fire for making himself unavailable for England.
Former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp branded White’s decision to make himself unavailable for national team selection as ‘disgusting’ and said the Arsenal right-back shouldn’t be considered for a call-up ever again.
‘Gareth said the door was still open, but I think it should be slammed right in his mush,’ the 77-year-old said on talkSPORT.
The 26-year-old was a surprise omission from England’s squad for the March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, with Gareth Southgate revealing the decision was taken out of his hands after he was informed that the defender did not want to be considered for selection.
Arsenal defender Ben White came under fire after snubbing a call-up to the England squad
England boss Gareth Southgate revealed White did not want to be considered for selection
White’s agent Alexander Levack (above) issued a passionate statement on his LinkedIn
White hasn’t represented his country since leaving the 2022 World Cup prematurely with, at the time, the Three Lions boss citing ‘personal reasons’ for his decision to return to England.
But White has remained a key player for Mikel Arteta this season.
He scored twice as the Gunners thrashed Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday night to return to the top of the Premier League.
And following another impressive display, his agent, Alexander Levack wrote on Instagram: ‘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 feeling 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 has blocked out all the noise and 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.’
