England vs Scotland: Three Lions player called his agent at Euro 2016 to 'get me out of this'

England crashed out of the tournament at the last-16 stage

Jack Austin
Friday 11 November 2016 07:42 EST
Comments
An unnamed England player wanted to leave the squad
An unnamed England player wanted to leave the squad (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An England international called his agent to ask him to get him out of Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad.

That is according to the Daily Telegraph’s Jim White, who, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, claimed one member of the 23-man squad called made the phone call upon arriving at the Three Lions’ base in Chantilly.

Follow live updates from England vs Scotland at Wembley here

White refused to name the individual, but the revelation left former Scotland international John Collins shocked, saying: “surely players have to cherish and love [representing their country]?”

After questioning England players’ desire to represent their country, White said: “There was a player at the Euros this year who, when England arrived in France, rang his agent and said ‘can you get me out of this?’

“And to me, that is extraordinary.”

White made the claims to prove the point that England players would rather play for their Premier League side or in the Champions League, and viewed international duty as a step down.

He highlighted Gareth Bale’s determination to play for and lead Wales during the Euros, despite winning the Champions League with the biggest club in the world, as something England players should be doing.

England were defeated by Iceland 2-1
England were defeated by Iceland 2-1 (Getty)

There were no withdrawals from Hodgson’s squad through injury or any other reason last summer, meaning the player failed to leave the team.

The Three Lions endured a terrible summer across the channel after narrowly escaping Group B, in second place behind Wales, they were unceremoniously dumped out following a humiliating 2-1 defeat to minnows Iceland.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in