UEFA are investigating England’s Jude Bellingham’s potentially offensive gesture in Sunday’s win over Slovakia at Euro 2024, which could rule him out of the quarter-final clash with Switzerland.
It was a “potential breach of basic rules of decent behaviour” when the Real Madrid player raised his hand to his genitals, moving it back and forth while looking at the Slovakian bench.
The gesture came after an acrobatic 1-1 equaliser in the 90+5 minutes that saved England from European Championship elimination after Ivan Schranz had given Slovakia the lead in the 25th minute.
“A joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for the way the Slovakian team played tonight,” Bellingham wrote on the X network.
Harry Kane completed the comeback to make it 2-1 early in extra time.
If UEFA finds Bellingham guilty of misconduct, the 21-year-old midfielder could miss Saturday’s scheduled quarter-final against Switzerland, who surprised the European champions with a 2-0 win.
“Information on this matter will be provided in due course,” UEFA said.
Five years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo, then playing for Juventus, and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone were fined €20,000 each by UEFA for making obscene gestures during the Champions League last-16 match between the two teams.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.