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- Gareth Southgate breaks silence on Jude Bellingham celebration
- Bellingham has escaped an immediate ban for the apparently lewd gesture.
Gareth Southgate has finally broken his silence on UEFA’s investigation into Jude Bellingham’s controversial celebration against Slovakia.
On Friday, Bellingham was handed a one-match ban by UEFA and fined €30,000 (£25,000) for his controversial gesture, but was declared eligible to play in England’s quarter-final clash with Switzerland.
European football’s governing body has launched an investigation into the gesture during Sunday’s win over Slovakia, when Bellingham pretended to grab his genitals.
UEFA has written to Bellingham to ask him to explain his actions, while the organisation has also contacted the Slovak Football Association for its thoughts on the alleged infringement.
Now, after UEFA reached a verdict on the incident, England manager Southgate has finally responded to the incident.
Gareth Southgate has finally responded to UEFA’s investigation into Jude Bellingham
Bellingham appeared to make a sly gesture towards the Slovakian bench after scoring for England on Sunday but has been given the all-clear by UEFA to play in the Switzerland clash.
Southgate said: ‘I thought it was a common sense decision.
‘It’s clear that when you score a goal of the quality that he scored, at the moment that he did it… you’re going to have an incredible adrenaline rush.
“There was no other intention than to communicate with his family.”
Bellingham is believed to have stood by his claims that the gesture was an “inside joke”.
After the game, when footage of the gesture emerged, Bellingham tweeted: “An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how the Slovakia team played tonight.”
However, Bellingham, 21, has been hit with a fine and a one-match ban for 12 months according to UEFA.
Following England’s struggles in the early stages of the tournament, Southgate is expected to adopt a back three for their clash with Switzerland.
Southgate will be delighted to have the Real Madrid star available for the quarter-final clash
The England manager has been so reluctant to make changes so far that he has only used 13 different starting players in Germany, with 10 of those players starting all four games.
But Southgate will have to make changes on Saturday due to the suspension of central defender Marc Guehi.
Perhaps fearful that Guehi’s absence could leave England vulnerable to a dangerous Switzerland side, Southgate is considering picking an extra centre-back and reverting to the 3-4-3 formation he used during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as against Germany and Italy at Euro 2020.