Tottenham Hotspur and England international midfielder Dele Alli finds himself in the middle of an unsavoury incident after he was caught making a one-fingered gesture during England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia at Wembley.
He was forced to apologise and was quick to take to Twitter to clarify that the gesture was not directed at the French referee Clement Turpin but it was rather a joke with England team-mate Kyle Walker.
Just to clarify, the gesture tonight was a joke between me and my good friend Kyle Walker! Apologies for any offence caused! Great win 2nite
— Dele (@dele_official) September 4, 2017
Alli wrote on Twitter: ‘Just to clarify, the gesture tonight was a joke between me and my good friend Kyle Walker! Apologies for any offence caused!’
Television grabs of the incident show that Alli was indeed looking at Walker during the incident but it needs to be seen how the referee looks at the entire issue.
If FIFA deem that the gesture was directed at the referee then Alli would be at risk of being ruled out for three matches. That would include the final two qualifying matches against Slovenia and Lithuania and the first match of the next summer’s World Cup finals – provided England do not conjure up a way to not qualify.
There is a precedent to this case when Lionel Messi was banned in June, for four games, for apparently insulting the assistant referee. Although the ban was later rescinded, there is a strong indication that FIFA is not going to let issues like this go scot-free.
England manager Gareth Southgate has indicated that although he didn’t see the incident, he is sure that Alli’s gesture was directed at Walker as the pair have a strange way of communicating. As quoted by Daily Mail, he said:
”I’ve not seen it but I’ve been made aware of it. Kyle and Dele were mucking about, and Dele’s made a gesture towards Kyle.
”I don’t know what the angle of the pitch is. The pair of them have a strange way of communicating, but that’s what they’ve said when it’s been raised.”
The Three Lions’ boss though was quick to point out that he would discourage Alli from making any gestures in the future and put his participation in jeopardy.
There is always a thin line between expressing yourselves on the pitch to being nasty. Flamboyant characters like Alli need to be given freedom on the pitch to express themselves as it makes it exciting for the fans.
At the same time, the player needs to be aware of the boundaries and make sure not to tread on them and make a fool of himself in important tournaments. Imagine if this happens in the middle of World Cup and he gets suspended for the entire event!
https://youtu.be/kbYiMJ7ERNI
