Jude Bellingham will be allowed to play for England in its crucial match against Switzerland – and the rest of the Euro 2024 tournament – despite a controversial goal celebration.
The England star was investigated by UEFA over a gesture he made during England’s game against Slovakia – after he scored an equaliser in injury time to keep the Three Lions’ hopes alive.
He has been given a one-match ban – but that is “subject to a probationary period of one year, starting from the date of the present decision”.
This means the ban will only apply if there is a further incident in the next year.
He has been fined a total of €30,000 (£25,400).
The Real Madrid midfielder, 21, posted on X about the gesture in the hours after the match, describing it as an “inside joke”.
“An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game,” he said. “Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.”
The decision will come as a relief to England, who play Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Two-goal Bellingham is currently their joint top scorer of the tournament so far, along with Harry Kane.
A potential match ban would have also come as a huge blow to manager Gareth Southgate, who has struggled to strike a balance with his team selections.
The FA is also being fined €10,000, (£8,500) for “crowd disturbances” during the same game, and €1,000 (£850) for the lighting of fireworks.
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Merih Demiral celebrated with a wolf salute. Pic: Reuters
In a separate ruling about the Turkey vs Austria game in Leipzig on Tuesday, UEFA has suspended Turkey’s Merih Demiral for two matches after he made a wolf salute towards the crowd.
The governing body said it amounted to “failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, violating the basic rules of decent conduct, using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute”.
The symbol dates back centuries but has in recent times been linked to Turkey’s far-right Grey Wolves group and was condemned as racist by Germany.
The group’s symbol is outlawed in Austria, while the wolf salute is not banned in Germany but the group is under surveillance.
In France, the organisation was banned outright in 2020, with the government accusing it of “extremely violent actions” and “extremely violent threats”.
A Turkish woman gestures at a demonstration in Germany in 2016. Pic: Reuters
The German Israeli Society, which described the Grey Wolves as a threat to Jews as well as Armenians, Greeks and Kurds, called on German authorities to follow suit and ban the group.
But the move to suspend Demiral has prompted outrage in Turkey, where the government has called for the punishment to be rescinded.
Amid the furore, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to attend his nation’s game against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday.
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He said on Thursday: “Does anybody ask why the German national jersey has an eagle, or the French jersey a rooster?”
The Grey Wolves are an ultra-nationalist youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of Mr Erdogan’s AK Party.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
