Initially scrounging around for something to put in Room 433 this week as nothing truly annoyed me from the weekend’s action. Sure City’s disappointing 0-0 draw was quite irritating, but I can hardly put 0-0’s into Room 433. I support a side currently managed by Tony Pulis for god’s sake. So, this week it’s more of a general gripe, something that has given me a bee in my bonnet for a rather long time. This week we are getting rid of being booked for ‘over-celebrating’ when scoring a goal.
Scoring a goal should be a joyous moment. Whether it’s securing a vital winner, levelling things up with a wonderful equaliser, or getting your team back into a game, a goal should never really be a bad thing. Yet, there are certain instances where if a player celebrates a bit too much the ref has no choice but to tell him he’s been booked. This, to me, can be considered nothing short of nonsense.
The two main instances when a player can be booked is either taking off his shirt or getting involved with the fans too much. So let’s have a look at both of these separately:
Taking your shirt off firstly has made some of the more iconic goals that little bit better. For example, Ryan Giggs’ amazing goal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal is made that little bit better as he runs around like a maniac and whips his shirt off. No, I have not got any real desire to see Giggs’ almost absurdly hairy chest. But the fact that you would be booked for showing a bit of passion is embarrassing.
The second and for me the even more irritating reason for getting booked is celebrating with the fans. In an ideal world, fans would be the lifeblood of a club, and apart from the over-commercialised big clubs they are. So, the fact that a player after scoring a super important goal can get booked for it seems to me to be utterly absurd. Obviously, you don’t want a player inciting a riot, but I think referees should really use common sense when booking a player for ‘over celebrating’ a goal.
So now that’s been cleared up. Hopefully, we’re all on the same page that getting booked for celebrating is a bit of a joke and should be banished to Room 433 (again nothing like BBC’s Room 101) alongside other stains on football, such as managers overstaying their welcome.
