- LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Is Kylian Mbappe as good as we thought he was going to be?
- Gareth Southgate has broken his silence over Jude Bellingham's celebration
- Bellingham has escaped an immediate ban for the seemingly-lewd gesture
Gareth Southgate has finally broken his silence over UEFA's investigation into Jude Bellingham's controversial celebration against Slovakia.
On Friday, Bellingham was handed a suspended one game UEFA ban and fined €30,000 (£25,000) for his controversial gesture - but was ruled as eligible to play in England's quarter-final clash against Switzerland.
European football’s governing body opened an investigation into the gesture during the win over Slovakia on Sunday as Bellingham pretended to grab his genitals.
UEFA wrote to Bellingham to ask him to explain his actions, while the organisation also contacted the Slovakian FA for their reflections on the alleged offence.
Now, after UEFA reached a verdict on the incident, England manager Southgate has finally responded to the incident.
Gareth Southgate has finally responded to UEFA's investigation into Jude Bellingham
Bellingham appeared to make an X-rated gesture towards the Slovakian bench after scoring for England on Sunday - but UEFA have cleared him to feature in their clash with Switzerland
Southgate said: 'I thought it was a common sense decision.
'Clearly when you score a goal of the quality he did, at the moment he did… you are going to have an incredible rush of adrenaline.
'There was no intent other than than communication with his family'.
Bellingham is understood to have stuck to his assertions that the gesture was an ‘inside joke’.
After the game as footage emerged of the gesture, Bellingham tweeted: ‘An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.’
Nevertheless, Bellingham, 21, has been punished with a fine and a 12 month suspended one game UEFA ban.
After England's struggles in the early stages of the tournament, Southgate is expected to switch to a back-three in defence for their Switzerland clash.
Southgate will be delighted to have the Real Madrid star available for the quarter-final clash
The England boss has been so reluctant to make changes so far that he has used only 13 different starting players in Germany, with 10 of those players starting in all four matches.
But change will be thrust upon Southgate on Saturday due to the suspension of centre back Marc Guehi .
Perhaps fearful that Guehi's absence could make England vulnerable against a dangerous Switzerland side, Southgate is considering picking an extra central defender and going back to the 3-4-3 formation that he used throughout the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as against Germany and Italy at Euro 2020 .
