Goal celebrations have long been a colorful and contentious part of soccer. Robbie Fowler pretended to sniff the coke as he bent over the touchline. Paul Gascoigne mimicked pouring booze down his throat. Celebrations often take on political tones. Paolo Di Canio marked a goal he scored for Lazio with a fascist salute. Scottish club Rangers fined Gascoigne two weeks’ wages by for playing an imaginary flute, a symbol of Protestant Organement, in front of staunchly Catholic Celtic supporters.
Soccer’s authorities have ramped up efforts to curb excessive celebrations in the past few years. Referees have been ordered to show yellow cards to players who take off their shirts to wave, throw into the crowd, or reveal a message scrawled underneath. Players also face the charge of “unsporting behavior” for leaping over advertisement boards or climbing into the crowd to hug fans.
Emmanuel Adebayor‘s goal celebration this past weekend, in which he ran the length of the field and slid in front of seething Arsenal fans, has dragged the sport backward into discussions about inappropriate celebrations. Adebayor made the wrong decision in the heat of the moment. “If he had ignored the taunts of the Arsenal fans and simply let the goal be his response, there would have been no violent scenes among the Arsenal fans and he would not be in danger of a suspension,” writes the AP’s Robert Millward. As evidence, Millward references the way Manchester United great Dennis Law reacted after backheeling a goal into the United net while playing for Manchester City. Law refused to celebrate knowing his former club was being relegated. Instead, Adebayor faces imminent disciplinary action at a time when three other strikers from his club are injured.