Jude Bellingham explains ‘joke gesture’ caught on camera during England celebrations

Jude Bellingham has denied claims that he disrespected Slovakia fans after England scraped through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 .

England were on the cusp of an embarrassing exit on Sunday (30 June), but Bellingham scored a bicycle kick in the 96th minute to drag the Three Lions into extra time.

In the first minute of the extra 30, Harry Kane scored a header to put England ahead, and Gareth Southgate’s side ultimately emerged 2-1 winners. In doing so, they booked a quarter-final with Switzerland .

After full time, Bellingham was filmed walking with Kane, kissing his own hand and grabbing his crotch while looking into the crowd. That led some to believe that the 21-year-old was disrespecting Slovakia fans, but the midfielder has now moved to dismiss that notion.

“An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game,” Bellingham tweeted, referring to a clip of the moment in question. “Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.”

He began the tweet with a yawn emoji and an ‘X’ emoji, and ended it with a handshake icon.

Bellingham was seen shouting “Who else?!” as he ran over to England fans after scoring his nation’s equaliser on Sunday.

The Real Madrid man, who turned 21 on Saturday, has enjoyed a brilliant season with his club, winning La Liga and the Champions League. He also scored England’s lone goal in the group stage, in the opening 1-0 win over Serbia, though his performances at Euro 2024 have largely failed to meet expectations .

Even so, his dramatic goal on Sunday will go down as “one of the best in our country’s history”, according to captain Kane .