Lily Allen has suggested England midfielder Jude Bellingham should be “punished” for his actions following a gesture he made during the team’s 2-1 victory over Slovakia on Sunday.
After scoring an injury-time equaliser to set up extra time for Gareth Southgate’s men, Bellingham was seen making a suggestive gesture towards his crotch at a section of the crowd.
The midfielder was accused of making said gesture towards the Slovakian bench but he took to social media after the match to clarify it was an “inside joke gesture towards some close friends”.
UEFA is believed to be investigating the incident ahead of England’s crucial quarter-final match against Switzerland on Saturday.
Speaking on the latest episode of her podcast Miss Me? alongside co-host Miquita Oliver, Allen pulled no punches with her take on Bellingham’s reasoning as well as taking a pop at Southgate’s management as a whole.
“It hasn’t been going well,” Oliver began at the top of the discussion. “And it’s making me feel really bad for Gareth Southgate because – I heard someone explain it really well the other day…
Lily Allen has weighed in on England’s Euro 2024 performance
PA
“The thing is, he’s a good manager at looking after the boys but he’s not a good manager when it comes to what they’re doing on the field physically.”
Allen mockingly replied by saying she wasn’t interested in this current England team and her last memory of following international football was when Southgate was a player at Euro 96.
She quipped: “I seem to remember the last time I was into international football was when Gareth Southgate lost it for us… that was the joke at the time, ‘What’s the quickest way out of the Euros? Via Southgate’. Still as relevant as ever!”
Oliver defended the England boss, however, as she hit back: “No, I’m not here to badmouth Gareth Southgate, I think he’s done a beautiful job with these boys but they have not been winning.”
🥱❌- An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.🤝🏽 https://t.co/H8sETMkPoi
— Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) June 30, 2024
Allen scoffed when Oliver argued that the players now “care” for each other and are “seen” as a team before ridiculing the suggestion Sunday’s match was “great”.
“Wasn’t it just one minute of great football? I think we can rephrase it and say, there was one minute on Sunday where some great football was played,” Allen surmised.
“Don’t get me wrong, if we get to the final, I’ll be there with my England shirt on, pretending that I’ve been there all the way,” she added before Oliver turned her attention to Bellingham.
She said: “After the glory of the Bellingham goal, UEFA are looking into it, but he’s maybe going to be suspended for thrusting his crotch in the face of the Slovakian team.”
“Yeah, so what’s gonna happen? A ban?” Allen asked to which Oliver replied: “Suspension maybe or a fine but it’s just a bit annoying because he’s playing really well and also he should be able to enjoy this day.”
“By grabbing his crotch?” an unconvinced Allen hit back, which prompted Oliver to answer: “No, I mean he should just be someone who got us to the quarters and things should be good.”
Jude Bellingham netted the equaliser in England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia
PA
But an unwavering Allen wasn’t convinced by the defence for Bellingham, saying: “What? You don’t think he should be punished for his actions?”
Oliver stood firm: “Oh my god, not within the celebration. I don’t think he meant anything offensive, I think he was just caught up in the moment.”
Allen ripped apart that defence as she sarcastically argued: “Where have I heard that, ‘I was only having a laugh’ before?!”
The pair shared a laugh before moving on with the rest of the podcast.
