Henderson Backs White After Wembley Boos

England midfielder Jordan Henderson has pledged his support for Ben White, after the Arsenal defender was booed during Friday’s friendly against Uruguay.

White was jeered by England fans when he came on as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw at Wembley, and again after scoring his side’s late opener. The 28-year-old’s chaotic cameo concluded when he conceded a stoppage-time penalty, converted by Uruguay captain Federico Valverde.

This was White’s first England appearance since he withdrew from the 2022 World Cup squad due to “personal reasons”, subsequently making himself unavailable for selection for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure.

England’s current manager, Thomas Tuchel, has offered White a “second chance”, but the right-back discovered the fans were less forgiving when he replaced Fikayo Tomori.

Henderson understands the ire of the Wembley crowd, having himself been booed following a controversial move to Saudi Arabia, which drew criticism given his previous support for the LGBTQ+ community.

“As teammates, we are always there to support. A lot of the fans will be in support of all of the players,” the Brentford midfielder said. “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.”

Henderson, who captained England against Uruguay while Harry Kane rested, confirmed White has been welcomed back into the squad after Tuchel instructed the defender to explain his self-imposed exile to them.

With England hosting Japan in another friendly on Tuesday, the former Liverpool star agreed it is up to the rest of the squad to help White cope with the Wembley abuse.

“Ben has been good since he came back in and we will support him as teammates,” Henderson said. “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. 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.