Jude Bellingham Euro 2024: Controversial Celebration Leads to Fine, England Ready for Quarter-Final vs Switzerland
Jude Bellingham is still able to play for England against Switzerland in the quarterfinal of the Euro 2024, even though he was given a one-match ban for his contentious celebration against Slovakia.
Bellingham was hit with a fine of €30,000 by UEFA along with a suspended one-game suspension for violating conduct regulations.
The incident occurred after Bellingham made a provocative gesture towards Slovakia’s bench after scoring a critical goal in stoppage time.
Jude Bellingham, who was given a suspended one-game penalty on Friday for his contentious celebration after scoring against Slovakia in the previous round, is cleared to play for England against Switzerland in their quarterfinal match of the 2024 European Cup.
The body that oversees European football, UEFA, announced in a statement that Bellingham would be suspended “for a total of one UEFA competition match for which he would be otherwise eligible for violating the basic rules of decent conduct” and fined 30,000 euros ($32,477). “Said suspension is not immediately enforced and is subject to a probationary period of one (1) year, starting from the date of the present decision,” said UEFA.
Bellingham’s brilliant equalizer in stoppage time that kept England in the tournament was captured on camera as he pretended to do a crotch grab, seemingly pointing towards Slovakia’s bench.
Bellingham, who had a reprieve from UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, is very probably going to start for England on Saturday night in Duesseldorf.
The Real Madrid player has scored twice in four games played in Germany, helping England advance to the round of eight despite without putting on a single strong showing.
Also Read: Turkey Defender Merih Demiral Banned for Two Euro 2024 Games for “Wolf Salute” Celebration
England, who are on the opposite side of the elimination bracket from all of the other tournament favorites, takes on Switzerland with a strong chance to finally break a 58-year major tournament duck.
A victory over the Swiss, who eliminated Italy in the round of 16 and also showed well in a draw with the German hosts in Group A, would advance Turkey or the Netherlands to the semi-finals.
On the opposite side of the bracket, Portugal battles France and Germany faces Spain.
England made it to the final of the last European Championship and advanced far in the last two World Cups under Gareth Southgate, although they were eliminated in the semifinals in 2018 and the final eight in Qatar four years later.
