Dele Alli could be in a spot of bother after his middle finger gesture was picked up by cameras during England’s World Cup qualifier with Slovakia on Monday night.
With just under 15 minutes to play at Wembley, it appeared to many of those watching the game that the Tottenham player had directed the gesture at the referee, Clement Turpin, after an appeal for a free-kick was ignored by the Frenchman.
After full-time, manager Gareth Southgate explained that Alli had actually aimed the gesture at his former Spurs teammate Kyle Walker.
“Dele and Kyle Walker were messing about and Dele made the gesture towards Kyle. They have a strange way of communicating.”
Judging by the responses on social media, it’s fair to say plenty of England fans were unconvinced by the England boss’ explanation.
Shortly after Southgate’s post-match press conference, a tweet from Alli echoed what Southgate had said:
‘Just to clarify, the gesture tonight was a joke between me and my good friend Kyle Walker,’ the tweet said.
‘Apologies for any offence caused!’
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
Goals from Eric Dier and Marcus Rashford saw England clinch a 2-1 win in the game, after falling behind to an early goal from Stanislav Lobotka. They remain on course to qualify for the finals with games against Slovenia (home) and Lithuania (away) remaining.
