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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Arsenal star Ben White allegedly left England's World Cup camp after 'bust-up' in front of squad

Arsenal star Ben White allegedly left England's World Cup camp following a disagreement with assistant coach, Steve Holland.

The Gunners defender hadn't featured for Gareth Southgate's side before his departure, nor was he available for the Wales clash due to illness. He then left the squad with the FA citing personal reasons as the cause.

A statement read: "Ben White has left England's training base in Al Wakrah and returned home for personal reasons.

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"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."

However, the Daily Star have since reported that White's premature exit stems from a fall-out with a key member of the coaching staff, as well as struggling to fully integrate into the squad off the pitch, leaving him unhappy out in Qatar as a result.

The report states that the moment that sealed White's fate came after he had verbal blows with Holland in full view of the rest of the squad.

An ill-feeling between the two allegedly developed after White arrived for a team meeting before the draw against the USA without knowing vital statistics relating to his own performance in training.

Similarly, Holland is also said to have been disappointed by the defender's lack of knowledge on the USA's strengths and weaknesses.

Those reports have been contested by some journalists, though, including The Express' Ryan Taylor, who tweeted: "No change on Ben White. Left England's World Cup camp in Qatar due to personal reasons. No confirmation as of yet when he will return to training with Arsenal."

As a result, England and White mutually agreed to release him from the squad during his first ever World Cup campaign. The 25-year-old won't be coming back into the international fold for the rest of the tournament and if the report is indeed true, it remains to be seen if he'll don the England shirt again.

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