England midfielder Dele Alli will miss next week’s match against Slovenia after receiving a one-match ban from Fifa for his middle-finger gesture against Slovakia.
During the match against against Slovakia on 4 September, Alli was caught on camera raising his middle finger, with some pundits saying that it was aimed towards match referee Clement Turpin.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At the time the 21-year-old had insisted on Twitter that the gesture “was a joke between me and my good friend Kyle Walker”, but Fifa confirmed that even if it was directed at a team-mate it was in violation of its disciplinary code.
Fifa said in a statement: “Although the disciplinary committee was not convinced that the player directed the gesture at the referee, and regardless of whether it was allegedly directed at a team-mate, it did consider such gesture to be offensive and unsporting. Therefore it amounted to a violation of article 57 of the Fifa disciplinary code.”
Originally named in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the October double-header, Alli will next be available for the match on 8 October in Lithuania – the final match of England’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
-
Denmark's 'pornographic' mermaid statue is in hot waterUnder the Radar Town will reportedly remove voluptuous Big Mermaid, despite statue being 'arguably a bit less naked' than Copenhagen monument the Little Mermaid
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
World Cup 2026: uncertainty reigns with one year to goIn the Spotlight US-hosted Fifa tournament has to navigate Trump's travel bans, logistical headaches and an exhausting expanded format
-
The wit and wisdom of Sven-Göran ErikssonIn Depth The first foreign coach to manage England on football, life and death
-
Can England's Euros team hold their nerve?Today's Big Question Three Lions' 'lopsided' opening win over Serbia raises more questions than it answers
-
The England kit: a furore over the flagIn the Spotlight Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
-
Lionesses will have regrets but their legacy can be ‘incredible’feature England stars return home after heartbreaking Women’s World Cup final loss to Spain
-
How English women’s football could become a billion pound industryfeature Building on the success of the Lionesses won’t be easy but it is eminently possible
-
Lionesses dig deep after Lauren James’s ‘Beckham-esque’ red cardfeature England reach the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals after a 4-2 win on penalties against Nigeria
-
Curse of the Lionesses: what’s causing spate of England women’s football injuries?Under the Radar Several key players are out of the World Cup, raising concerns about hectic schedules, sub-par pitches and sexism
