Thomas Tuchel responds after England fans boo Ben White again

Detailed summary

Arsenal defender was again targeted by Three Lions fans

White was audibly booed as he replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 78th minute at Wembley on Thursday evening in a repeat of what happened the last time the Arsenal defender turned out for England, during the international break in March of this year.

The animosity from England fans dates back to late 2022, when White left the World Cup squad midway through the tournament in Qatar due to personal reasons. He did not play again for the Three Lions during Gareth Southgate’s time as manager.

White ended his four-year England exile in March, when Tuchel called him up for pre-World Cup friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, but he was greeted with boos in both games.

Injury prevented White from selection for the 2026 World Cup, but Tuchel saw no issue with bringing him back into the squad ahead of this month’s Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain.

Earlier this week, White said supporters would not boo him if they knew the full story behind his abrupt exit from the World Cup.

But as he was introduced against Croatia, boos could be heard from portions of the England support.

“I didn’t hear the boos, to be honest. I heard the claps for Luka Modric, which is nice, because he deserves it. He’s a legend of the game, but I honestly didn’t hear the boos for Ben, and I thought we were past that,” Tuchel said in his post-match press conference.

Tuchel agreed when asked if he hoped England supporters would not boo White the next time he plays, and said he could only judge the Gunners defender on what he had seen since taking charge.

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