Thomas Tuchel has urged England supporters to move on from the controversy surrounding Ben White after the Arsenal defender was booed during the 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia.
White, 29, came on as a substitute in Thursday’s match but was met by jeers from sections of the crowd. Tuchel said he was disappointed by the reaction and hopes the defender will be allowed to begin a new chapter with the national team.
The England manager said White was mentally strong enough to deal with the reception, but stressed that he should not have to face continued negativity.
When Tuchel was told Croatia substitute Luka Modric had received a warmer welcome than White, he replied with a smile: “I didn’t hear the boos, to be honest.”
He added: “I heard the applause for Luka Modric, which is lovely because he deserves it. He is a legend in football. But honestly, I didn’t hear the boos for Ben White. I thought we had moved on from that page.”
Tuchel said he hoped there would be no repeat of the incident.
“I hope it doesn’t happen again. He is one of our players,” he said. “Since I took over, he has been very keen to join us and be part of the group. He has done nothing wrong since I became responsible for the national team.”
White declined to make himself available for England under former manager Gareth Southgate after leaving Qatar during the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup for what he described as “personal” reasons.
Reports suggested he had fallen out with Southgate’s former assistant Steve Holland. White returned to the squad under Tuchel in March, when he was also booed by supporters, but then missed the World Cup because of injury.
The Arsenal defender said this week that fans would not have behaved in the same way if they knew the full story, although he did not want anyone to be blamed.
The boos on Thursday were less severe than those heard during England’s friendly matches in March. Tuchel does not believe the reaction will prompt White to withdraw from international football again.
“I don’t think so,” the German said. “I don’t want to make it bigger than it deserves. I don’t think so and I hope it doesn’t happen. He has always seemed committed, dedicated and excited to join the camp and receive the call-up.”
Tuchel added that White had suffered more injuries than he should have, saying: “He is a player of very high quality and, to be honest, I don’t even know what happened or the deeper reasons behind the situation in which he left the camp.”
He said there was “no reason” to question White’s commitment or passion since his appointment and added: “I don’t want to think about these extreme possibilities at the moment.”
England’s victory secured their place in the Nations League quarter-finals and kept alive their hopes of finishing top of Group One, Tier Three. They travel to face leaders Spain next Sunday.
“Things cannot always be brilliant and highly entertaining,” Tuchel said. “Sometimes you just need to be serious and determined. We did the job. We wanted to win and we got what we wanted.”
