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Jude Bellingham faces a possible ban at Euro 2024 after Uefa opened an investigation into a gesture he made while celebrating the spectacular overhead kick scored against Slovakia in their last-16 tie on Sunday.
Bellingham equalised in the 96th minute to save England from a humiliating defeat, and they eventually prevailed in extra time to book a quarter-final with Switzerland.
In the aftermath of his goal, Bellingham was seen shouting “Who else?!” as he ran over to England fans after scoring. Video showed the Real Madrid forward then kiss his hand and grab his crotch in a gesture which appeared to be directed towards the side of the pitch.
Amid accusations that he had disrespected the Slovakian bench or their supporters, Bellingham explained his actions on social media, tweeting: “An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.”
He began the tweet with a yawn emoji and ended it with a handshake.
But now the incident is being investigated by Uefa’s ethics and disciplinary inspector “regarding a potential violation of the basic rules of decent conduct,” the governing body said in a statement. “Information on this matter will be made available in due course.”
Bellingham, who turned 21 on Saturday, has enjoyed a brilliant season with his club, winning La Liga and the Champions League. He also scored England’s lone goal in the group stage, in the opening 1-0 win over Serbia, though his performances at Euro 2024 have largely failed to meet expectations.
Even so, his dramatic goal on Sunday will go down as “one of the best in our country’s history”, according to captain Kane.