Bellingham receives one-match Euro ban for crotch grab celebration

Jude Bellingham is available for the Euro 2024 quarter-final between England and Switzerland after being suspended for one match on Friday for his controversial goal celebration against Slovakia in the previous round.

In a statement, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said Bellingham would be fined 30,000 euros ($32,477) and suspended “for a total of one UEFA competition match in which he may appear in breach of basic principles of good conduct.”

“The said suspension shall not be immediately enforceable and shall be subject to a probationary period of one (1) year, starting from the date of this decision,” UEFA added.

Bellingham, 21, was filmed mimicking a crotch grab while looking towards the Slovakia bench after his spectacular stoppage-time equaliser that kept England in the tournament.

However, he claimed it was an “inside joke” aimed at friends.

England manager Gareth Southgate said UEFA made a “sensible decision” given the emotions surrounding Bellingham’s stunning goal.

“I thought it was a common sense decision. Obviously when you score a goal of the quality he did, at the time he did it, at his age, it’s an incredible adrenaline rush,” Southgate told a pre-match press conference.

“I think the gesture was meant for nothing more than communication with the family, so from our perspective we thought it was a reasonable solution.

“I talk to players all the time, so I don’t feel a particular need to spend extra time with Jude on this. I think he’s aware of the investigation and he’s an intelligent guy.”

Bellingham will almost certainly feature in the England squad in Düsseldorf on Saturday evening after being suspended by UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.

The Real Madrid star scored two goals in four games in Germany as England advanced to the quarter-finals despite a series of unconvincing performances.

England have a great chance of breaking a 58-year winning streak in major tournaments as they find themselves on the other side of the knockout ladder behind all the other tournament favourites.

A win against the Swiss, who beat Italy in the round of 16 and impressed in their Group A match against hosts Germany, would give them a chance of reaching the semi-finals against Turkey or the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Germany will face Spain, while Portugal will face France on the other side of the bracket.

Under Southgate, England reached the last European Championship final and went far in the last two World Cups, but ultimately lost in the semi-finals in 2018 and in the last eight four years later in Qatar.

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