The Premier League may consider imposing punishments on individual players if they feel goal celebrations are damaging the reputation of the game or could inflame opposition fans or players.
The news comes after some players received criticism for celebrations many feel crossed the line by mocking opponents.
Iliman Ndiaye received a yellow card after he scored Everton’s winner against Brighton and then celebrated by flapping his arms like a seagull.
But when Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicked Erling Haaland in his goal celebration at the Emirates, he received no punishment. Arsenal went on to beat Manchester City 5-1 on Sunday.
Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott praised Lewis-Skelly for his strength of character, saying: “He was not afraid of Haaland at all.”
However, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher both said they thought the 18-year-old’s actions were disrespectful.
The celebration came after Haaland mocked the Lewis-Skelly at the end of an ill-tempered 2-2 draw at the Etihad in September, taunting him by asking: “Who are you?”
In the past, Jamie Vardy has mimicked an eagle when scoring against Crystal Palace and was criticised by some for his interactions with the Tottenham supporters at the end of last month, when Leicester beat Tottenham 2-1. He received no caution for either action.
Similarly, Neal Maupay was thought to be mocking James Maddison when he copied the midfielder’s darts celebration after scoring for Brentford against Spurs a year ago.
Maddison then criticised Maupay in his post-match interview and the forward hit back on social media.
This season, Phil Foden and Joshua Zirkzee have pretended to fire guns towards the crowd after scoring goals but received no punishment.
In the NFL, players who imitate the shooting of weapons when celebrating face heavy post-match fines.
The Premier League’s chief football officer, Tony Scholes, said: “There’s a balance. I think we all like to see celebrations. Some of the celebrations have been very funny, entertaining, but there’s a line.
“Once it crosses over into mockery or criticism then we would need to deal with it.”
Sky Sports
