Jude Bellingham fires back after claims he made gesture towards Slovakia’s bench after his goal

Jude Bellingham has broken his silence after claims that he made a gesture towards Slovakia’s bench after his goal for England.

Real Madrid superstar Bellingham was the hero for England as his 95th-minute overhead kick made it 1-1 against Slovakia.

In the first minute of extra-time, England skipper Harry Kane stepped up as he headed his side in front from close range.

In the end, Gareth Southgate’s side held on to set up a quarter-final clash against Switzerland.

After Bellingham’s goal, there were claims that he made a gesture towards the Slovakian bench as a video was posted on social media.

Now, the 21-year-old has hit back at the claims.

He wrote on his official X account: “An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.”

After the match, Bellingham was asked about his goal, he said: “Depends how we're looking in two weeks. If it ends up being one that helps the team win the cup then it will be right up there.”

Getty

Bellingham continued: “I think the performance was really good until their goal and even after. We had massive control of the game, always threatening in the final third, maybe just lacking the final touch to create big chances. It's going to be important for us going forward, definitely.

“Look at who came on. We've won this game together. Not me, not Harry, not the individual moments. It's the likes of Ivan Toney, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer - Bukayo Saka going to left-back. It's the sacrifice you make for the team and that's the energy we need to keep regardless of what goes on.”

England will take on Switzerland at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf on Saturday evening.

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated transfer news channel to send you the latest deals, rumours and more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.