Jude Bellingham faces a possible ban at Euro 2024 after Uefa opened an investigation into a gesture he made while celebrating the spectacular overhead kick scored against Slovakia in their last-16 tie on Sunday.
Bellingham equalised in the 96th minute to save England from a humiliating defeat, and they eventually prevailed in extra time to book a quarter-final with Switzerland.
In the aftermath of his goal, Bellingham was seen shouting “Who else?!” as he ran over to England fans after scoring. Video showed the Real Madrid forward then kiss his hand and grab his crotch in a gesture which appeared to be directed towards the side of the pitch.
Amid accusations that he had disrespected the Slovakian bench or their supporters, Bellingham explained his actions on social media, tweeting: “An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.”
He began the tweet with a yawn emoji and ended it with a handshake.
But now the incident is being investigated by Uefa’s ethics and disciplinary inspector. “Uefa … will conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding a potential violation of the basic rules of decent conduct by the English Football Association player, Jude Bellingham, having allegedly occurred in the scope of this match,” the governing body said in a statement. “Information on this matter will be made available in due course.”
Uefa’s rulebook lists punishments for a breach of decent conduct that include a warning, a reprimand, a fine up to €100,000 and a suspension for a specified number of matches.
Bellingham, who turned 21 on Saturday, has enjoyed a brilliant season with his club, winning La Liga and the Champions League. He also scored England’s lone goal in the group stage, in the opening 1-0 win over Serbia, though his performances at Euro 2024 have largely failed to meet expectations.
Even so, his dramatic goal on Sunday will go down as “one of the best in our country’s history”, according to captain Kane.
Any suspension would be a major blow to both Bellingham and England, ruling him out of the quarter-final with Switzerland and maybe more should Southgate’s team progress in the competition.
While Bellingham has not been at his best during the competition, looking sluggish and fatigued at times in the opening four games, he has provided two of England’s highlights, scoring their opening goal against Serbia before this crucial late strike to deny Slovakia a famous win.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer would be the most obvious candidate to replace Bellingham in the No 10 role, should Southgate persist with same line-up in the same the 4-2-3-1 formation, with which England have so far struggled to impose themselves on any of their opponents for a sustained period.