Jamie O'Hara has slammed Ben White's decision to snub an England call-up for this week's international friendlies.
Gareth Southgate was poised to include the in-form Arsenal defender in his squad for the upcoming games against Brazil and Belgium, but revealed White declined the offer when he spoke to the England manager.
White hasn't played for England since leaving the Three Lions World Cup camp in 2022, with reports suggesting he doesn't want to be a bit-part player and that he isn't a fan of just watching football. Either way, O'Hara told Grosvenor Sports that he thinks the 26-year-old is a bit of a disgrace.
“Very few people get the opportunity to represent their country. For Ben White to turn that down because he doesn’t want to sit on the bench or because he doesn’t like watching football? I’m sorry, but I think you’re a bit of a disgrace to be honest,” O’Hara said on this week’s episode of The Counter Attack.
“Do you know how many people will give their right arm to just sit on the bench for England and have the opportunity to represent their nation? Then you’ve got this guy who goes, ‘oh, I don’t really like football’ and ‘Gareth Southgate hasn’t really given me a chance’. Do me a favour – it’s your country for crying out loud.
“There are obviously other things that have gone on behind the scenes – maybe he’s fallen out with some of the players. We all know he went to the World Cup and went home halfway through, so there’s probably something between him and the manager.
“However, even if I’d fallen out with the manager, I’d still go because it’s my country. I didn’t even make the England first team but there was nothing more honourable than playing up until the England U21s and singing the national anthem at Wembley. Representing your country is the biggest honour a footballer can have, and if it isn’t, then you’ve got a problem.”
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