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Jude Bellingham is reportedly set to be fined but will escape a ban for his X-rated gesture following his spectacular goal against Slovakia, leaving him available for England‘s quarter-final with Switzerland on Saturday.
Bellingham, 21, was seen making a seemingly-crude gesture in the direction of the Slovakian bench after netting an overhead kick in the 95th minute to keep England’s Euro 2024 hopes alive.
Harry Kane went on to score the winning goal in extra time to book England’s place in the last-eight, but UEFA subsequently launched an investigation into Bellingham’s conduct.
Bellingham receiving a ban is a possible sanction, but he is set to avoid a suspension and could instead be handed a five-figure fine, according to Bild.
Following Sunday’s match, Bellingham took to X to deny that he had intended to offend anyone with his gesture.
He wrote: ‘An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.’
This statement could aid his cause to avoid a ban as while the gesture may be considered unsportsmanlike, it could be difficult to prove that it was specifically directed at anyone, while Slovakia have also opted not to press charges.
Bellingham has, though, been warned about his conduct by former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann.
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Hamann, who has suggested England wouldn’t have a problem if they lost their star midfielder, said; ‘He’s got to leave them things out because there’s always someone bigger than you and the other players will watch his antics.
‘He’s got to be very careful because the one thing you shouldn’t do is disrespect your opponents,’ Hamann added. ‘Against Slovakia he made his excuses, but it wouldn’t have been the first time that something has happened with him. Somebody has to tell him it’s needless and he should cut it out.’
Bellingham was seen performing a similar gesture after scoring a last-minute winner for Real Madrid against Barcelona last season. On that occasion, he did not face an investigation.
Bild also point out that Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a comparable crude gesture during his penalty shootout heroics in the 2022 World Cup final and he escaped with a fine.
UEFA have already banned one player at Euro 2024, though. Albanian forward Mirlind Daku was suspended for two matches after leading fans in chants of ‘f*** Macedonia’ and ‘f*** Serbs’ while holding a megaphone in the aftermath of his team’s 2-2 draw with Croatia in the group stages.
The governing body issued a statement to explain their decision which confirmed Daku had been banned ‘for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute’.
They are now conducting a separate investigation into the goal celebration of Turkey defender Merih Demiral.
The 26-year-old scored twice in Turkey’s 2-1 win against Austria on Tuesday, and allegedly performed a ‘wolf’s salute’ linked to the Grey Wolves – a far-right extremist group in Turkey.
The Grey Wolves, officially called Ulku Ocaklari, is the youth movement of the Nationalist Movement Party – which is in coalition with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.
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The probe is currently ongoing, and it remains unclear over whether Demiral will be hit with a ban for Turkey’s quarter-final with the Netherlands on Saturday.
Bellingham avoiding a ban would be a major boost for Gareth Southgate, allowing him to pick his talisman against Switzerland this weekend.
The attacking midfielder has been criticised for some of his performances in Germany but has still popped up with two crucial moments, scoring England’s winner in their opening game against Serbia before sparking his team’s comeback when they looked to be heading for a shock defeat by Slovakia.
He is yet to find his best form at Euro 2024, but could get the chance to shine in a new formation on Saturday, with Southgate considering switching to a back three.
This could see England move to a 3-4-2-1 system to match up with Switzerland, potentially giving Bellingham more freedom to roam as one of the two attacking midfielders behind captain Harry Kane.