Dele Alli could find himself in hot water after cameras captured his middle finger gesture during England’s win over Slovakia on Monday night.
The incident happened seconds after the Tottenham player had been body-checked by former Liverpool defender, Martin Skrtel. Despite Alli’s appeals for a free-kick, referee Clement Turpin waved play on. As a result, most of those watching felt the gesture was directed at the official.
According to Alli and his manager, this was not the case. A tweet from the former MK Dons midfielder later explained that the gesture was actually aimed at his former Spurs teammate, Kyle Walker, and was nothing more than a joke between friends.
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
Gareth Southgate provided a similar explanation in his post-match press conference. “They have a strange way of communicating,” the England boss said.
Some reports on Tuesday morning have suggested that Alli might face a ban for the gesture, especially if it turns out Turpin has mentioned it in his referee’s report.
As for Walker, the man supposedly on the receiving end of the gesture, he clearly doesn’t seem too concerned. A tweet from the full-back, who joined Manchester City in the summer, makes this perfectly clear.
‘Morning @dele_official,’ Walker tweets, adding three laughing emojis and a well-used gif of Mr Bean…
Morning @dele_official 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Bl1pl3tYxu
— Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) September 5, 2017
Middle finger gestures aside, England overcame an early Slovakian goal in the game to win the match 2-1. They now sit five points clear at the top of their World Cup qualifying group with two games remaining.
