Jamie O’Hara doesn’t hold back with Ben White stance – 'I don’t respect him'

Ben White has come under fire from Jamie O’Hara for his stance over representing England. The Arsenal centre-back, who was part of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad, left the 2022 World Cup mid-tournament, citing personal reasons.

Subsequent reports hinted at a clash with assistant Steve Holland, claims that Southgate consistently refuted. But in March, Southgate revealed that White had declared himself unavailable for national duty, a position interim manager Lee Carsley believed was still in effect as he made his first selection for the recent Nations League games against Ireland and Finland.

With Southgate and Holland now out of the picture, there has been speculation that White might be open to an England return. However, ex-Tottenham midfielder O’Hara has lambasted the 26-year-old for his attitude, showing no mercy on talkSPORT: “I don’t respect him. He doesn’t want to play for England, who cares?

“You don’t want to represent your nation, then fine. No problem. But don’t expect any respect from anyone.

“He doesn’t want to play for his country. I respect it [his decision not to play for England]. I don’t respect him. He is entitled to do what he wants, but I don’t respect him.

“How can you now want to play for your country? It’s the highest pinnacle of your career. If you love the game and you love football, everything about it is.”

White, who has four England caps, once recalled how he burst into tears after being selected for the delayed Euro 2020. However, with Carsley insisting the onus is on the player to get in touch if he has changed his mind, he faces being frozen out of the international set-up.

Continuing his tirade, O’Hara added: “It has been in the past [his ambition to play for England]. As a footballer, that is part and parcel of your career, being away from your family. As Lee Carsley said, he hardly sees his family, but he understands the glory and satisfaction you get from walking out with your country.

“He plays for Arsenal. Everyone else is on international duty. He is going into an empty training camp or he goes away and has four days with your family. You can do that for 20 years after you retire. I don’t respect that he doesn’t want to represent his nation.”

Asked if he planned to speak to White before selecting the squad for October’s Nations League games, Carsley said: ‘I’ve not planned to, no. We spoke about this in the squad selection.

“Every player that’s eligible to play for England is in with a chance. As far as I was aware, he asked to be not contacted. So, if that changes then that’ll change.”

Pushed on whether the onus is on White, Carsley added: “Yeah, I think it’s important that… we’ve got real competition all over the pitch and the more players we’ve got available to pick from, the better it is.”