Gareth Southgate: Jude Bellingham will keep his cool after escaping ban for crotch grab

Gareth Southgate has backed Jude Bellingham to keep his cool and avoid being provoked into a flashpoint like England’s past superstars at major tournaments.

‌Bellingham was fined £25,000 by Uefa for his crotch-grabbing gesture after scoring against Slovakia and given a suspended one-match ban, but was cleared to play in the European Championship quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday as a one-match ban was suspended for a year.

He was pictured making the gesture and immediately claimed the celebration was a “private joke” ahead of Uefa launching an investigation.

‌There have been fears opponents could wind-up the 21-year-old and instigate a reaction similar to David Beckham and Wayne Rooney at finals which have ended in disappointment.

‌While Southgate admits his midfielder is now living in a different sphere to his team-mates as a Real Madrid midfielder and poster-boy of Adidas’ advertising campaign ahead of the finals, he believes Bellingham has the maturity to deal with being in the limelight.

‌“The maturity that he has to deal with a world that is pretty much different to everyone else’s in the squad, he deals with everything that is put in front of him,” said Southgate. “He is an incredible boy to work with.

‌“I have a really good relationship with him. We talk, as I talk with all of the boys. But I do recognise there’s a lot of spotlight on him and I think he knows I’m there to support and help him as much as I can, as all the players would feel.

‌“I’m so pleased with how he responded in the last game to a couple of quieter games which in his world became a crisis. He’s super-motivated to help us win the game tomorrow night.”

‌Beckham’s infamous kick at Diego Simeone saw him shown a red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, while Rooney was dismissed against Portugal in 2006 in Gelsenkirchen, just 50km away from Engand’s clash against the Swiss.

‌Bellingham has been fouled nine times at the Euros and has engaged with referees on the pitch and walking off the pitch at half-time during the finals. Uefa had the power to hand out a ban for his crotch-grabbing gesture towards the technical area just after his spectacular last-gasp equaliser, although past cases saw them hand out fines.

‌“I think it’s a common sense decision,” said Southgate. “It is an unprecedented moment in someone’s life to score a goal like that in the 96th minute. And, I don’t know I would have reacted in that moment if it had been me – at his age as well – so I am just so mindful of everything that he is achieving and the spotlight on his world.

‌“Nobody is going to be perfect and at 21 you are at times going to react emotionally and without that emotion you won’t have the type of player he is. I think he actually deals with it so well.”

‌Southgate has admitted discipline will be important against the Swiss, with five players including Bellingham one booking away from a suspension. Conor Gallagher, Kieran Trippier, Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo have also picked up yellow cards and another would see them banned for the semi-final.

‌Marc Guehi picked up two yellow cards and will miss the quarter-final at Dusseldorf Arena, with Ezri Konsa set to step in. Yellows will be wiped from the record for players after the quarter-finals so the only way to miss the final would be to be dismissed in the semis.

‌“It’s something we always put a big focus on and really before the game the other night we weren’t in any sort of disciplinary trouble at all. And there were a lot of yellow cards given in that game… let me leave it at that,” said Soutghate.

‌“But generally speaking, across all tournaments our discipline has been good. That is important. You don’t want to lose players on disciplinary issues.

‌“The yellow cards obviously get wiped after tomorrow night but equally players have to make challenges and they can’t be going in half-heartedly, looking to avoid a suspension. So we’ve got to trust them to play the way they normally do and hope the right decisions are made at the right times.”

Initiative on player-referee dialogue to be introduced in all Uefa competitions

Meanwhile, a Euro 2024 initiative to restrict dialogue with referees solely to a team’s captain will be rolled out across all Uefa competitions in the coming season, European football’s governing body has said.

Uefa hailed the “success” of the initiative in a media release issued on Friday, under which any other player approaching the referee is yellow-carded for dissent. The approach mirrors a similar proposal being trialled by the International Football Association Board (Ifab) in an effort to improve player behaviour and respect towards referees.

Now competitions like the men’s and women’s Champions League will adopt the same approach in 2024-25.

“The success of this new approach, understood by the actors of the game and welcomed by the public opinion as unquestionable progress for the image of football, boosts our confidence that this is the way forward. Fair play and respect are values that football, the most popular game in the world, must convey to our societies,” a Uefa release stated.

“Starting with the new season of Uefa club competitions ready to kick off next week, this approach will therefore be extended to all matches in Uefa competitions.”

Where a captain is the goalkeeper, teams must nominate a single outfield player to be the one designated to communicate with the referee.

Uefa referees’ chief Roberto Rosetti spoke positively about the initiative in a briefing held at the end of the group stage, highlighting in particular dialogue between Scotland captain Andy Robertson and French referee Clement Turpin during the opening game against Germany, which took place while VAR reviewed a penalty award for the hosts and a red card for Scotland defender Ryan Porteous for dangerous play.

Uefa reported there had been 166 yellow cards shown in the group phase at Euro 2024, compared to just 98 at Euro 2020.