Jordan Henderson says he and his fellow England players “will always support” Ben White, after the Arsenal defender was booed by fans at Wembley on Friday.
There were loud jeers when White, 28, took to the field as a 69th-minute substitute and again when he opened the scoring 12 minutes later in a 1-1 draw with Uruguay.
White was playing his first international match since leaving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for personal reasons and then “didn’t want to be considered” for an England call-up for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England boss.
“As team-mates we are always there to support,” said Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson, 35, who was booed by England fans after his controversial move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.
“I have been through it myself, but that is part and parcel of being an England player.
“Some of the fans probably don’t even know why they are booing, they listen to what is being said in the media, and a lot of the time what the media says isn’t true.
“Not many people know the ins and outs of what happened in Qatar and it is for us to deal with internally. Ben has been good since he came back in and we will support him as team-mates.”
Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel called up White as a replacement for injured Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah and said he must “clear the air” with his England team-mates.
As yet, White has not spoken publicly about his decision to withdraw from international duty but Tuchel believes it is “necessary” for him to explain his reasons to the players who were with him at the 2022 World Cup.
“A few of us have been there, it is difficult when it is you, but you have to try not to take it too personally,” added Henderson, who has 89 senior caps for England.
“The media can spin things in certain ways, which isn’t always the truth and then fans can pick up on that and think it is the truth.
“It is really difficult when that happens, so it is important for us to make sure he is OK, which I am sure he is. I was delighted he got on and got a goal, which is the most important thing.”
‘At some stage he will have to grasp the nettle and talk about it’ – analysis
John Murray, BBC Radio 5 Live football correspondent
What that match will be remembered for is Ben White.
That’s the only match I have ever seen when an England player has scored his first international goal for England at Wembley and was booed by, I would say, a sizeable minority of the crowd.
When he left the squad in Qatar and went home for what was described as personal reasons – we’ve never really got to the bottom of what it was.
There were stories that there was a fall-out, something happened involving Steve Holland, Gareth Southgate’s assistant. But that was never confirmed by Gareth Southgate.
I thought last night might have been the perfect opportunity for Ben White to put his head above the parapet. He’s made his comeback, he’s just scored his first goal. But, as Thomas Tuchel was saying in advance of the match – and we kind of know this already – he described him as quite introverted, quite shy, and maybe he just doesn’t feel comfortable to do that.
But probably at some stage he will have to grasp the nettle and talk about it.