England’s Professional Footballer, Jude Bellingham, has been cleared to participate in England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland this Saturday, following a decision where he received a suspended one-match ban and a fine for an incident involving a gesture during the previous round against Slovakia.
The 21-year-old midfielder’s suspension will only take effect if he commits a similar offense within the next year, alongside a fine of £25,400 (30,000 Euros). His gesture, involving a crotch-grabbing motion towards the Slovakian bench after scoring a crucial goal in a 2-1 victory, was investigated by Uefa.
Bellingham, who has used this gesture before while playing for Real Madrid, clarified that it was not directed at England’s opponents. He explained on social media that it was meant as an inside joke towards friends present at the game, emphasising his respect for Slovakia’s performance.
England will face Switzerland in Dusseldorf at 17:00 BST (17:00 WAT). Gareth Southgate’s entire squad of 26 players trained on Friday morning.
While Bellingham is eligible for Saturday’s match, Turkey’s defender Merih Demiral has received a two-match ban for a gesture he made during Turkey’s last-16 victory over Austria.
Demiral, 26, scored both goals in Turkey’s 2-1 win and celebrated his second goal with a ‘wolf salute’. This gesture, associated with the far-right extremist group Grey Wolves and banned in Austria and France, is closely linked with Turkey’s ruling coalition party, the National Movement Party.
Turkey will face the Netherlands in Berlin, with the match kicking off at 20:00.
Nancy Mbamalu
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