England’s Jordan Henderson pledges support for Ben White after the defender was booed by fans at Wembley during the friendly draw with Uruguay.
ENGLAND midfielder Jordan Henderson has pledged his support for teammate Ben White after the defender was booed by fans during Friday’s friendly against Uruguay.
White was jeered when he came on as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw at Wembley and heard more boos after scoring his side’s late opener.
The 28-year-old’s chaotic cameo was capped when he conceded a stoppage-time penalty, which was converted by Uruguay captain Federico Valverde.
The appearance was White’s first for England since he walked out of the 2022 World Cup squad citing “personal reasons”.
He then made himself unavailable for selection for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as manager.
Current boss Thomas Tuchel has given White a “second chance”, but the right-back discovered fans were less forgiving during his introduction as a substitute.
Henderson knows the feeling of Wembley’s ire, having been booed following his controversial move to Saudi Arabia.
“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.
Henderson suggested some fans “probably don’t even know why they are booing” and are influenced by media narratives.
“Not many people know the ins and outs of what happened in Qatar and it is for us to deal with internally,” he added.
The midfielder, who captained the side with Harry Kane rested, said White has been welcomed back after explaining his exile to the squad.
With England hosting Japan on Tuesday, Henderson said it is up to the team to help White cope.
“Ben has been good since he came back in and we will support him as teammates,” Henderson stated.
He acknowledged the difficulty of such situations but stressed the importance of not taking it personally.
“I was delighted he got on and got a goal, which is the most important thing,” Henderson concluded.
