Tottenham Hotspur and England star Dele Alli claims that the middle finger he extended during Three Lions’ World Cup qualifier was directed as former Spurs teammate Kyle Walker, and not the official. Alli made the obscene gesture (“flipping the bird”) during England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia as a “joke with a good friend” in his words.
The incident came just moments after Alli was barged into by Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel but no penalty was called by referee Clement Turpin, and play continued.
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
Friday brought word that FIFA are now investigating the incident, and that a potential ban or fine could hit the 21-year-old in late September, which would adversely impact Alli during England’s final Group F qualifiers for 2018 against Slovenia and Lithuania
During his weekly news conference on Friday, Tottenham Hotspur Mauricio Pochettino was on the same page as Dele Alli; maintaining that what his young star player did was a joke. Pochettino then referenced the widely popular comic figure Mr. Bean.
“It was a joke in a moment between two team-mates,” Pochettino said.
“It was not a great gesture but I hope FIFA do not make a big issue out of it. Maybe the headlines are because it’s Dele and something happens, and he’s English, but it’s not a big issue.
“He was joking. Look at Mr Bean — all the people laugh about that, and Dele was joking with Kyle Walker. Come on, if Dele gets punished we would need to censor Mr Bean, too.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.