England midfielder Dele Alli has been banned for one international match for his gesture against Slovakia earlier this month, FIFA has announced.
Gareth Southgate will have to contend with Slovenia in next week’s World Cup qualifier without his star playmaker after football’s governing body deemed the middle-finger gesture worthy of the ban.
The England boss had provisionally included the Tottenham star in his squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania, but admitted he ran the risk of looking silly should a ban be imposed.
‘We run the risk of looking a shambles because he could get withdrawn again,’ Southgate said on Thursday following his squad announcement.
‘The hope is that common sense prevails.’
The England manager admitted he was not entirely happy with his squad after some key players had ruled themselves out of selection through injury.
Southgate rattled off about seven or eight names who were omitted from the squad due to lack of fitness, including attacking options Adam Lallana and Jamie Vardy.
Alli’s suspension will further add to the Three Lions’ attacking woes, however Southgate will hope his side have enough firepower to overcome Slovenia, who will be chomping at the bit to leapfrog Slovakia into second place.