Dele Alli middle finger: FA pleads with Fifa to be lenient on punishment for Tottenham star
England forward made controversial one-fingered hand gesture during England's win over Slovakia
ENGLISH football bosses have urged FIFA to go easy on Dele Alli.
Alli is being officially investigated by FIFA after sticking up a middle finger in the direction of Turpin but the player claims it was aimed at team-mate Kyle Walker.
An FA spokesman said: “We have today responded to FIFA and understand the case will be reviewed by the disciplinary committee before the end of the month.”
The FA want FIFA to confirm that a decision will be made before the October 5 home game against Slovenia, with England needing a point to qualifying for the World Cup.
FIFA are expected to announce their decision on September 28 – the day Gareth Southgate names his squad for the games with Slovenia and Lithuania.
The FA's submission has included a please of mitigation, saying the gesture was aimed at a team-mates and not the officials or opponents.
This could then see Alli get a reduced punishment, resulting in a one or two-game ban. As a result, he would not miss the start of next summer's World Cup in Russia.
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Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino likened punishing Alli for "Digit-gate" to throwing the book at Mr Bean.
He said: "It was a joke in a moment between two team-mates. 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."
