Ben White told he should serve 'long ban' for 'disgraceful' incident during Brighton vs Arsenal

Brighton and Hove Albion fans have called for their former player Ben White to be banned after an altercation he had with Pervis Estupinan on Saturday.

White, who was signed by Brighton from Southampton's academy in 2014 and went on to make 36 appearances for the Seagulls, started the game for Arsenal against his former club on Saturday evening.

England international Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half, shortly after Gabriel Jesus was brought down by Tariq Lamptey in the area.

The in-form Kai Havertz doubled the lead for Arsenal shortly after the hour mark, before another former Brighton man Leandro Trossard rounded off the strong performance with a chipped effort to make it 3-0 in the 86th minute.

Despite the strong performance and Arsenal now returning to the top of the Premier League table following the win, the result has been tarnished by footage that has since emerged after the game.

The incident involving White and Estupinan occurred while the score was at 1-0 at the Amex Stadium.

The video below shows the Arsenal defender nudging Estupinan in the back, provoking a reaction from the Brighton man. Estupinan eventually retaliates by pushing White, only for him to fall to the floor clutching his throat.

White later returned to the game without injury - which has sparked a fierce reaction from the Seagulls fanbase, who used to cheer him when he donned blue and white.

Against his old club too..

Absolutely shameful from Ben White 😡
pic.twitter.com/FwyY0u6HzJ

— mark carlaw (@markcarlaw) April 7, 2024

One angered fan wrote: "Glad he isn’t involved in the England set up." While another added: "Disgraceful. If that's not bringing the game into disrepute, I don't know what is? Retrospective long ban & large fine should (but almost certainly won't) follow."

The opinion was echoed by other supporters, who added: "That's where should get 3 game ban retrospective action." As well as: "Disgraceful, why can’t VAR intervene and send him off for blatant cheating!"