The agent of Ben White has slammed the Arsenal star's critics following the criticism he received for his decision not to play for England.
White was widely criticised by fans and pundits after Gareth Southgate revealed the defender had refused a call-up to the England squad in March.
The Three Lions boss admitted his disappointment that the 26-year-old has asked not to be considered for future squads, ruling him out of Euro 2024.
Now, the day after White scored two goals in Arsenal's 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea in the Premier League, agent Alexander Levack has published a statement defending his client.
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"I feel compelled to write this today after such a great performance last night, and all season for that matter, from client Ben White," Levack wrote on LinkedIn.
"For the past 4 weeks Ben has been in the press and media a great deal in that time with a large percentage of that being negative.
"Whilst I appreciate that Ben is in the public eye which brings it's own connotations and leaves you open to criticism I wanted to make the point that every elite performer, whichever field that may be, is a human being who has the same feeling we all have and experience good and bad.
"No one knows what is actually going on in one's life so I really believe people should think before making a judgement or criticising these elite performers in public.
"Ben has shown unbelievable robustness and strength throughout this adverse period off the pitch and has blocked out all the noise and has performed incredibly well on the pitch, in a situation where many others could have and would have wilted.
"Ben has an incredible temperament and attitude which allows him the ability to navigate through his working and personal life.
"I suppose the main message is be kind to people as you do not have the full facts, which in Ben's case neither Ben nor I wish to vocalise publicly, and do not know what is going on in peoples personal lives so again please be kind."
Topics: Ben White, Arsenal, England, Gareth Southgate, Football, Premier League
Alex Brotherton