Gareth Southgate has said he will not take the emotion out of Jude Bellingham’s game after Uefa punished the midfielder for his lewd celebration against Slovakia with a €30,000 fine (£25,400) and a suspended one‑match ban that leaves him free to play in England’s quarter-final against Switzerland.
Bellingham was investigated after being shown on television kissing his right hand and making a crotch-grabbing action after his spectacular stoppage-time goal kept England in the Euros. The 21-year-old said it was “an inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game” and in no way aimed at the Slovakia bench, but he has been sanctioned after Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body found him guilty of “violating the basic rules of decent conduct”.
