England’s Jude Bellingham is reportedly set to stick to his claim that his goal celebration against Slovakia was a joke when questioned by UEFA about it.
Bellingham scored a stunning overhead kick to take England’s Euro 2024 round of 16 tie with Slovakia into extra time, a game they eventually won 2-1. During his celebration, the 21-year-old appeared to make an obscene gesture towards the Slovakia bench, but the Real Madrid star said it was an “internal joke” aimed at his friends watching the game. UEFA has decided to pursue the matter further, with the governing body investigating whether Bellingham breached the rules of ” “decent driving”Today, the Telegraph claims the Three Lions ace will not budge on his stance when questioned by UEFA.
“A joking gesture”
After the match, Bellingham tweeted: “ 🥱❌- A private joke gesture towards close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for the way this Slovakian team played tonight (Sunday).🤝🏽 »
For England, the report adds that Bellingham is unlikely to be suspended, if he is sanctioned at all. Slovakia are not understood to have lodged a complaint with UEFA over the gesture and have not commented on the matter. This means the former Borussia Dortmund player could be free to play against Switzerland in England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final on Saturday. Bellingham’s England side face Switzerland at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf on Saturday night. The Swiss won 2-0 against Italy last weekend to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
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