Tim Robinson booked Iliman Ndiaye after the Everton midfielder flapped his arms in front of Brighton fans following his winning penalty at the Amex Stadium last weekend
Michael Oliver’s red card for Myles Lewis-Skelly was not the only controversial refereeing decision of last weekend – another came at the Amex Stadium where Tim Robinson booked Iliman Ndiaye for a celebration that featured the Everton midfielder imitating a seagull. And I am only half-joking.
I am no fan of seagulls myself but is that really any sort of provocative offence? Booking players for what they do in celebration is, by its very nature, a killjoy act, although Robinson would no doubt argue that – as Ndiaye also cupped his ear – the Everton player was inciting the home fans.
But even so, how can a player be sanctioned for flapping his arms in the style of a bird while others go unsanctioned for pretending to unload rounds of machine gun fire? Those others clearly do not mean any offence and most people would probably consider it over-sensitive but, considering what is happening in the world and considering the problem of gun crime on the streets of so many countries, it would be perfectly understandable if football authorities outlawed celebrations that make visual reference to firearms.
After all, that is what they have done in the NFL in the United States, for a long time. The Joshua Zirkzee machine gun celebration would bring swift punishment in American football, as would the sniper celebration that Phil Foden dusted down after scoring a couple against Ipswich Town recently.
Xavier Worthy will play in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday week but the wide receiver has been fined twice this season for gun-related celebrations. And, on the field, his team were punished, being made to take the extra-point attempt 15 yards further from the posts than is standard.
After Drake London had been penalised for making a shooting gesture after scoring against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver said: “There is a lot of stuff going around in the world with gun violence that I don’t think I should have done that.”
Footballers would point out to the fact that guns are often glamorised in movies, on television, and sometimes in the media. And, against Bodo/Glimt earlier this season, Rasmus Hojlund marked a rare double with a throat-slitting gesture which he explained was a reference to a character in the film Gladiator 2.
That would not have washed in the NFL, where the throat-slitting gesture was deemed a punishable offence back in the 1990s. The NFL also tries to clamp down on celebrations that taunt opponents.
Indeed, their many behavioural policies saw the NFL become known, amongst many players and fans, as the No Fun League. No-one wants the Premier League – or, indeed, the EFL or any football league – to become a No Fun League.
Which is why the booking of Ndiaye seemed particularly harsh, which is why the removal of a jersey being a yellow card offence still, after all these years, seems particularly harsh. But if authorities really do want to make sure celebrations do not cross any sort of line, tell players to cut out the gun stuff. They mean no harm but, in this day and age, it’s really not appropriate.
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