Dietmar Hamann has claimed that Jude Bellingham potentially being banned for his X-rated gesture during England’s dramatic victory against Slovakia would be a ‘blessing for Gareth Southgate’.

The 21-year-old midfielder – who scored a stunning over-head kick equaliser in the 95th minute of the clash with Slovakia to keep England in the tournament – is being investigated by UEFA after he appeared to grab his genitals as he celebrated his goal.

Mail Sport reported on Tuesday that UEFA had written to the Real Madrid midfielder asking him to explain the action and gave the England star three days to respond, with the Real Madrid star having previously stated on X that the gesture was an ‘inside joke towards some close friends who were at the game’.

If found guilty, Bellingham could face a ban for the action but there is no timeline as to when the investigation will be completed, with England set to take on Switzerland in their crunch quarter-final clash on Saturday. 

Former Germany international, Hamann, 50, has insisted that should Bellingham receive a ban, it might come as a ‘blessing’ for England manager Gareth Southgate, who has been scrutinised for his team selections during the tournament.

‘Gareth Southgate should have made the decision earlier to take out Bellingham or Phil Foden,’ he said to BILD.

‘Now he may be forced to be lucky if Bellingham is suspended. If he has to sit out, that might even be a blessing. That might even help the team. Something has to happen.’

The former Liverpool defensive midfielder, who won 59 caps for Germany, also took aim at Bellingham’s behaviour. 

After the England star had scored his sensational over-head kick, he had shouted ‘Who else?’ to fans in the stadium, a celebration that the former Bayern Munich star disapproved of.

‘I don’t like his behaviour,’ Hamann said. ‘There was his statement two and a half years ago in Dortmund about referee Felix Zwayer, where he got away with a fine, but in my opinion, should have been banned.’

In December 2021, Bellingham had criticised Zwayer after Borussia Dortmund had suffered a 3-2 defeat by Bayern Munich. The former Dortmund star stated: ‘You give a referee who has postponed games before the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?’

Hamann added: ‘Without your colleagues you are nothing – and if he then stands up and says that, then I would be interested to hear what his teammates say. Apart from his goals, he was not seen in the first four games.

‘I would wait and see where he is in 2 or 3 years. We don’t need to talk about the fact that he is a talented player, but some things have happened that you shouldn’t do.’

After England’s 2-1 victory against Slovakia, which came thanks to Harry Kane’s winner in the first-half of extra time, Bellingham gave an insight into the rationale behind his ‘Who else?’ celebration, stating that it was down to the adrenaline rush he experienced after scoring that sensational over-head kick. 

‘It’s a feeling that is like no other,’ Bellingham said during a press conference after the match. ‘In international football, in knockout football, it’s even a worse feeling, because you’re 30 seconds from going home, having to listen to all the rubbish, feeling like you have let a nation of people down.

‘In one kick of the ball, everything can change. It’s a feeling I don’t like to have but when it’s done, it feels great.’

Many have offered solutions to how England can solve their lack of creativity in front of goal, with some pointing to their midfield as the issue. Hamann claimed to RTE that Southgate needed to deploy players like Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon and take off either Bellingham or Foden.

He said to the outlet: ‘I think the biggest problem is they’ve got Foden and Bellingham in the same team. It clearly doesn’t work, but he [Southgate] hasn’t got the bottle to drop either of them.’ 

Bellingham, meanwhile, has fired a robust response back at England’s critics following their dramatic win on Sunday. 

‘Playing for England should be the most proud moment of your career but often it’s quite difficult,’ he said. ‘There’s a really high intense pressure. The fans expect a lot from us regardless of what happened in recent tournaments years and years ago.

‘People talk a lot. You do have to take it personally a little bit. We work so hard at this game. We come in every day, we work hard to put on a performance for the fans, sometimes it doesn’t go well and sometimes it feels like there’s a bit of a pile on, it’s not nice to hear.

‘But you can always use it and for moments like that, it’s nice to throw it back to some people.’