LONDON — Thomas Tuchel expressed his “disappointment” regarding the booing of England fans towards Ben White during Friday’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, but he emphasized that the Arsenal defender needs to “take it on the chin.”
White made his first appearance in four years as a substitute in the 69th minute, but was met with jeers from a portion of the 80,581 spectators.
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The 28-year-old scored his first international goal to give England the lead, but faced another round of boos before conceding a stoppage-time penalty for a foul on Federico Viñas, which Federico Valverde converted.
White left the 2022 World Cup in Qatar early for what the Football Association described at the time as “personal reasons,” although multiple sources, including ESPN, reported it resulted from a disagreement with then-manager Gareth Southgate’s coaching staff.
Southgate later indicated that White had turned down a subsequent call-up, leading to his selection only after Tuchel called him up following Jarell Quansah‘s injury withdrawal.
“I was informed about the boos,” Tuchel said. “I didn’t hear them from the sidelines because I was busy with substitutions and instructions.
“It can’t be the majority. There were some boos along with a mixed reception, which I’m disappointed about as we should protect our players.
“He performed excellently in training. He deserved to come on and was close to securing us a win. However, I understand that similar situations have occurred with other players in the past.
“He needs to rise above it. We will always support him, and hopefully we can move on from this as he is ready to create new opportunities. We want to provide him with that chance, and I hope everyone can accept it and move forward.”
Noni Madueke and Phil Foden both exited the match early due to injuries. Madueke was seen leaving Wembley with a knee brace, while Foden had to limp off following a foul by Ronald Araújo, which went unpunished by referee Sven Jablonski.
Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte seemed to receive two yellow cards but avoided a red, as it was later clarified that the first yellow was issued to defender José María Giménez.
“I don’t think the referee had a good performance at all during the match,” Tuchel remarked.
“It’s hard to comprehend how a tackle like the one on Foden wasn’t even reviewed. In my opinion, the penalty awarded at the end was very soft, and there were discussions about a player getting two yellow cards without being sent off—just a bad day for officiating.”