Julius OkorieEngland’s winning goal scorer, Jude Bellingham, may be banned from the quarterfinal clash against Switzerland on Saturday, following what UEFA considered as inappropriate goal celebration against Slovakia on Sunday.
The Real Madrid star was England’s saviour in the round of 16, as he scored a spectacular 95th minute winner against Slovakia.
But Bellingham landed himself in hot water after performing an X-rated gesture, seemingly aimed at one of the benches, while celebrating his special goal.
The 21-year-old was seen moving his right hand from his face towards his groin, before thrusting it back and forth while staring towards the sidelines
This was perceived by many to be an offensive gesture aimed at the Slovakian bench.
However, Bellingham later explained via social media that it was: ‘An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game
He added: ‘Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.’
Despite Bellingham’s explanation, Portuguese newspaper A Bola has reported that UEFA may consider the act worthy of a one-match ban.
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Such a punishment would be a big blow to Gareth Southgate and his England side, who have only scored four goals in four games at this summer’s Euros – with Bellingham netting two of those.
It is not the first time the gesture has been made by an individual in football. Atletico Madrid boss, Diego Simeone, made an apology after a similar gesture in the Champions League in 2019, when his side beat Juventus.
His ‘cojones’ gesture was then mimicked by Cristiano Ronaldo in the return leg, as the Italian club produced an incredible comeback to win 3-2 on aggregate. However, the Portuguese star escaped a ban, and was instead fined €20,000 for ‘improper conduct’ by UEFA.
A decision on the Jude Bellingham’s ‘inside joke’ is expected to be reach latest Saturday, just a day before the England versus Switzerland quarterfinal showdown on Sunday in Düsseldorf Arena.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
