S Poddar
Jude Bellingham will be available for England’s match against Switzerland on Saturday after receiving a €30,000 (£25,400) fine and a suspended one-match ban from Uefa for a controversial gesture made after scoring against Slovakia. The incident, captured on TV, showed Bellingham kissing his right hand before making a crotch-grabbing motion. He explained that the gesture was an inside joke directed at friends in the stands, not intended for the Slovakia bench.
Uefa’s control, ethics, and disciplinary body ruled that Bellingham had violated basic standards of conduct. The suspended ban will only be enforced if he repeats the behavior within a year.
Additionally, Uefa fined the Football Association €10,000 for crowd disturbances and €1,000 for the use of fireworks by England fans during the same match.
In preparation for Saturday’s quarter-final, all 26 England players trained, with Gareth Southgate likely to switch to a back three. He faces a decision on whether to start Luke Shaw, who has been out since February with a hamstring injury, or opt for Bukayo Saka at left wing-back. The right wing-back position is expected to be filled by either Kieran Trippier or Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Merih Demiral has been banned for two matches for a politically charged celebration during Turkey’s victory over Austria. Demiral formed a wolf’s head with his fingers, a gesture linked to the extremist nationalist group Grey Wolves. Uefa stated that he was penalized for failing to uphold general principles of conduct and for using a sports event to make a political statement.
Demiral and Turkey’s government defended the gesture as an expression of patriotic pride, but the incident led to Turkey’s ambassador to Germany being summoned by the foreign ministry in Berlin.
