Edinson Cavani was booked for this controversial goal celebrationThere have been many instances when players have got a bit emotional with their goal celebrations. They have got a bit animated and referees do not take kindly to their “over-reactions”. Footballers releasing their frustrations on the pitch after scoring are a common sight, but players are penalised for expressing their elation on the pitch.But FIFA’s rulebooks seem to have principles of their own.“Excessive celebrations are a a breach of Law 12, which says: While it is permissible for a player to demonstrate his joy when a goal has been scored, the celebration must not be excessive.”We take a look at five instances where players were booked for their goal celebrations.
#1 Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez and controversies always go hand in hand. The Argentine striker was booked for doing a chicken celebration, which is very common in Europe, as players like Kevin Nolan have regularly shown.
Tevez has always been quite a character, and the emotional guy that he is, the Argentine could not keep his emotions in check as he took a dig at Boca’s eternal rivals River Plate. Not only did he infuriate the crowd, but also the referee!
Carlitos was sent off for imitating a chicken as he mocked the rival fans, in spite of not having been booked previously.
This shocked one and all as the stadium erupted with Boca fans screaming for the ref’s head. Whatever be his explanation for the sending off, the referee clearly wasn’t impressed by Tevez’s celebration.
#2 Joel
Now this is what you call a classic case of irony. First you have a belter of a game and then you fall into a hole while celebrating your brace. But things don’t stop here! You are booked for so called excessive celebration by the referee when you get out of the hole.
If you can relate with the above scenario, then you surely must be Joel. The Cortiba midfielder went through the exact same scenario when he led his side to a 3-1 victory over rivals Sao Paolo. Joel played full 90 minutes despite his epic fall although he looked washed up for pretty much of the game post the fall.
The referee had no ounce of sympathy towards the Cortiba man who was completely dazed by his jump in the pits. It looked like ref was a Sao Paolo fan.
#3 Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli is a maverick in the true sense of the word. He does things which you will probably never even dream of doing. And he always manages to amaze people with his antics. During his Manchester City days, he did quite a few weird things. These not only made him the tabloids’ darling but also made him a manager’s headache.
It was October 2011 and the big Manchester derby was just around the corner. Super Mario was in his own world and somehow managed to set his own house ablaze with fireworks, which saw him getting a lot of flak from the media.
Fortunately, he also set the field alight with a stunning goal which helped City trounce their rivals at Old Trafford. The wily Italian responded to the press in his own style and popped up with a message ‘Why Always Me’, which went on to symbolize him.
Although it was a very interesting way to celebrate, it still did see him getting yellow carded.
#4 Edinson Cavani
Uruguay and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Edinson Cavani has always been in the news for his outrageous celebrations. Be it his Gangnam style in the Serie A for Napoli or his frequent shirt removal after scoring a crucial goal. But this time, he took his celebrations a notch higher as he went into Counter-Strike mode.
Cavani ended his goal drought for PSG by doing the ‘hunter’ celebration after scoring against Lens. He posed with an imaginary gun in his hands, signalling death of his goal drought.
But the referee was not bemused and immediately flashed a yellow to the PSG hitman. Everyone at the stadium was shocked including the opponents. But the peace loving referee was in no mood to let the 28-year-old corrupt set a bad example to young fans.
The Uruguyan protested but the referee went on to flash another yellow and send him back to the dressing room.
#5 Nacer Chadli
It is one of the most bizarre yellows in modern day football when Tottenham winger Nacer Chadli was penalized for celebrating his goal as it was neither provocative nor controversial.
The Belgian international gave Spurs the lead in the high intensity North London Derby after he slotted home the ball in the Arsenal net. The lad was elated to have scored in a game of such magnitude.
He cupped his ears as he mocked the dead silence at the Emirates when he scored. But the referee interpreted it as something else and brandished a yellow card.
The Tottenham bench was shocked and the usually calm Mauricio Pottechino had a change of expression on witnessing a folly of such degree. Referee Michael Oliver was the talking point in post match discussions as he evoked strong reactions from world over.
Everton defender Luke Garbutt tweeted: 'Have i really just seen chadli get booked for that what is the game coming too ! #patheticbooking.'
This tweet sums it up.
