The beautiful game. We love it for the drama, entertainment and tribalism. But the humour, the mischief-makers and the pettiness also play a big part in what makes football so fun.
When Myles Lewis-Skelly celebrated his goal in Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City, he mimicked Erling Haaland’s meditation pose. It was a targeted response to the Norwegian’s comments aimed at the youngster earlier in the season. It added another playful layer to the bad blood that’s developed between the two teams amid their rivalry in recent title races.
What was clearly intended as a cheeky dig has somehow fuelled a serious debate about whether or not it should be acceptable. The Premier League had their say, suggesting that there is a need to monitor goal celebrations, and that players could be punished if they are deemed to be criticising or mocking opponents.
The way teams enjoy their wins shouldn’t be comfortable for the other side – that’s the whole point of it being a competitive game. We should be championing the personalities in sport that bring humour to those moments, not trying to sanitise the game even further. After all, when they’re on our side, we love it, right?
As a Brighton supporter, I watched Iliman Ndiaye run off to celebrate in front of our supporters at the Amex Stadium in January after scoring a penalty to put Everton 1-0 up, and in doing so he flapped his arms like a seagull to mock the club. Irritatingly petty? Yes. But was it funny? Also yes. What was most shocking, though, was that the forward was then booked by the referee for that celebration. It’s madness to give a yellow card to a player for flapping like a seagull!
Jamie Vardy is the wind-up king and it’s part of his identity, with a catalogue of examples of the striker’s antics. Leicester fans love it. Most neutrals do, too. He also famously flapped like an eagle to provoke Crystal Palace supporters, and after scoring against Spurs earlier this season he gestured at the Premier League badge on his sleeve to the Tottenham fans, making a point of the trophy he’s won.
Players get persistently wound up by opposition fans, so as long as it’s in jest they should be able to give it back. I’m not suggesting there shouldn’t be any rules – fan and player safety is paramount – but there should be a logical approach in allowing the game to live out its emotion in joyous moments.
In 2009, when Man City’s Emmanuel Adebayor sprinted the length of the Etihad pitch to knee-slide in front of the fans of his former club Arsenal, then manager Arsene Wenger said the celebration lacked elegance. He’s probably right, but these moments become iconic. It’s part of what makes live sport so brilliant: pure passion and unpredictability.
Sometimes mockery comes back to bite. Neal Maupay and James Maddison memorably had a heated exchange when the then Brentford forward imitated the Tottenham man’s darts celebration, only for Spurs to come back and win the game.
More recently, Man City revealed a giant banner of Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or next to the words “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”, a pointed dig at Vinicius Jr and his Real Madrid team-mates for snubbing last year’s prestigious ceremony when the midfielder received the award. Vinicius put in a man-of-the-match performance in a 3-2 win for the La Liga champions.
I still personally enjoy the pettiness. A bit of pantomime is part of the theatre of football. We want more characters and entertainment. Our game should have that frivolous spontaneity and controversy, as it only adds another level of fun to the competition.
Mocking celebrations could be seen by some as arrogant, immature or cringeworthy, but some of the excitement to naturally celebrate a goal has already been reduced thanks to VAR, so let’s not water the game down further by taking away the players’ ability to express their emotions and have a bit of a laugh. I’m sure they don’t take it that seriously, so why should we?
