Dele Alli Banned One England Game by FIFA for Middle Finger Gesture
Tottenham star Dele Alli has been handed a one match ban and fined £3,800 for an 'offensive and unsporting' gesture in England's World Cup Qualifier against Slovakia.
Alli breathed life into what was yet another boring England international match when the Three Lions faced off against Slovakia in September. The 21-year-old was caught on camera raising his middle finger to someone, which sparked a huge amount of chatter after the game.
And now, according to the Mirror's John Cross, Alli has been handed a small punishment - a one match ban and £3,800 fine. The reason behind the decision being that the gesture wasn't aimed at an opponent or official, but was still 'offensive and unsporting'.
The punishment will be welcomed massively by the FA, who were concerned that Alli may face a stronger sentence that could interfere with the World Cup finals - should England qualify for Russia next summer.
The midfielder will miss England's upcoming qualifier against Slovenia, but is free to play from then on.
An official statement from FIFA (via the Mirror) reads as follows, after both Gareth Southgate and Alli remain adamant that the gesture was aimed at teammate Kyle Walker:
"Following the incident that occurred during the match between England and Slovakia on 4 September 2017, the English player Dele Alli has been sanctioned with a suspension for one official match and a fine of CHF 5,000 for making an offensive and unsporting gesture.
"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 and therefore it amounted to a violation of art. 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code."
