Question Number: 31380

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 3/22/2017

RE: ex pro Adult

Peter rodrigues of southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom asks...

When a player takes his shirt off during the game & gets booked but at the end of the game when they take there shirt of nothing happens. Can you explain please. Players can get booked after the final whistle, is that correct.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Peter
The decision to caution for the removal of a jersey at a goal was agreed on at the 118th Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on 28 February 2004 in London, FIFA had decided that it wanted to deal with players removing their shirts in the celebration of goals and it asked the law making body IFAB to make the change. No explanation was given although it was suggested that some Muslim countries did not like players showing their chests while others just thought it was unseemly. Some felt that it had it origin in some players showing slogans on undershirts such as Robbie Fowler supporting Liverpool dockers on an undershirt in 1977 after scoring a goal. Whatever the reason the Laws of the Game were amended in 2004 to include a mandatory caution for shirt removal at a goal celebration. Up to that point it had been less clear. It is not a cautionable offence at any other time such as at the end of the game, at a substitution or at a jersey change due to a blood injury.
And yes players can get booked after the final whistle and it generally happens for dissent, misconduct etc. Shirt removal after the final whistle would not be cautioned. I recall watching various penalty shootouts over the years and seeing the winning penalty taker run off to celebrate by removing his shirt. While technically this could be a caution most if not all referees would not caution in such circumstances.
BTW pulling on a mask after a goal is also a card as is climbing on a perimeter fence or gesturing in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Peter,
The caution for shirt removal is only in celebration of a goal. Therefore, removing the shirt after a match as players are leaving the field isn't in celebration of the goal, thus isn't a caution by the laws of the game.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Peter,
I think part of the reason you appear slightly perplexed is due to a mistaken impression. It is not necessarily the case that when a player takes his shirt off during the game, he gets booked. It is only a mandatory caution if done in celebration of scoring a goal. The law says that goal celebrations should not be excessive and goes on to list examples of excessive goal celebratory behaviour that players must be cautioned for, as follows:

''climbing onto a perimeter fence
gesturing in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way
covering the head or face with a mask or other similar item
removing the shirt or covering the head with the shirt''

At other times it is not necessarily an offence to remove the shirt. I suppose it could potentially be done in a way that the referee might consider would constitute unsporting behaviour but this would be fairly unusual, in my opinion.

Players can indeed be booked after the final whistle but removing the shirt at that point would almost never bring a caution. For instance, players often swap shirts at the end of the game in a sporting and friendly manner and no referee should ever dream of issuing a yellow card for this.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Peter ,
It could create a bit of a delay but it is not on par with the war antics of waving your private parts in the opposition's face before a battle.
If everyone removed shirts I suppose it could create some issues running about semi naked, however I was never sold as to the need to be a mandatory caution for crude behavior or NFL style dance celebrations. That SHOULD be a CR decision. It was never an issue until women thought they had as much right as the men to go shirtless after a goal. Given this act of joyous celebration is somehow been construed as a highly provocative offending likely thanks to Brandi Chastain for exposing her sports bra in 1999 Then the sanctimonious among the FIFA association were all up in arms about how this terrible thing could not be permitted to go unchecked. The politically correct FIFA guardians of respectful behavior have declared it is mandatory misconduct punishable as USB whereby the player is shown the yellow card since July 2004. Could it be due to corporate interests not wanting to taint brand logos? Possibly? I just like to blame Brandi! lol Whether it is in good taste or not making it a part of the LOTG no one today can be unaware it will be done so do not do it!
Cheers