JEFF POWELL: No player should refuse a call from their country. Gareth Southgate must cut Ben White loose

A poll has found that almost 40 per cent of men under the age of 28 would refuse to join up if this proud nation issued a call to arms in the event of Vlad the Invader setting his sights on Western Europe.

Recruitment to our armed forces is at an all-time dribble. And if the government were to enforce conscription, then those recent findings reveal that more millions of men of fighting age would flee this country than are presently flooding across Ukraine’s borders to dodge Zelensky’s war.

It is reasonable to presume that Ben White - given that he defected from England’s squad midway through the Qatar World Cup - would be among the refuseniks.

No real reason was given for his taking a premature flight home.

The suggestion is that since White thinks he’s the best right-back since Brazil’s immortal Carlos Alberto, he found it impossible to comprehend why he had not been called upon by Gareth Southgate to play so much as a single second in the group games in Qatar.

So affronted was he, it is said, that he appalled Southgate’s staff by declining to study a video of the next team England would be up against.

Whatever the excuse, there appears very little doubt that he put personal before patriotic.

Frankly, no footballer should refuse to turn up for his country. Whether it be on the pitch, on the bench or even in the stands. If White breaks his silence and offers a GENUINE reason for his decision, I am willing to let him off.

But let’s have it right, Ben. While kicking your heels instead of a ball can be a mite frustrating, it does not carry the risk of a lifetime never again being able to kick a ball because your legs have been severely injured.

And by the way, there is no pulling out of the frontline because your girlfriend has caught Covid.

Really Ben, would it have been such a hardship just to cheer the rest of the lads on for a couple of weeks? When your fans have spent all their savings on getting to the World Cup and would have to find more hard-earned shillings to stay in the desert if England reached the final?

Southgate had swallowed his dismay and actually wanted this wretch to be available for a couple of friendlies this month with an eye to re-selection for this summer’s Euros. Staggeringly, Arsenal got on the phone to the FA to say he wouldn’t be making himself available.

England’s manager still put up a feeble defence for White yesterday and added something like ‘never mind, I’ll bring you back into the reckoning for the 2026 World Cup.’

Always assuming that Southgate is still clinging to his job like a barnacle to the rusty hull of an old boat, even if he loses his nerve again come the first huge hurdle at the Euros.

Loyalty is oft quoted as imperative for a manager to keep the players onside. It is a maxim which can be taken too far.

The next Bryan Robson - England’s greatest tackling, creating, scoring, turbo-charged, all-round midfield player - will not be found among the wimps or the overinflated egos.

Nor among those who declare themselves too wearied by a few club matches to present themselves for national duty. That includes you, Master Bellingham, who asked not to be called up in October 2021.

Personally I would not relent if I was the boss. One strike and you’re out. Because, Gareth, you will never, ever win a World Cup with footballers who are not proud above all of playing for their country.

If my great mate Bobby Moore were still with us today, he would tell Bellingham: ‘Hey Jude, get your priorities sorted out.’

If my father were still alive, he would be mortified to know that White plays for the Gunners. Not through any affiliation to Arsenal but because he fought through the Second World War in the Royal Artillery.

Having, by the way, lied about being younger than his age so as to be eligible for being drafted.

Benny may delude himself that he’s one of the Jets. Afraid not. He’s a loser.