You have to
feel sorry for Lawrie Sanchez, former Reading player turned
football manager.
If ever a manager has suffered from players celebrating a goal
, then
it is him.
Remember the
excellent cup run he enjoyed in 2001, whilst
manager of
Wycombe Wanderers, reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup? In
the
quarter-finals
against Leicester City, who were still a Premiership side,
Steve
Brown scored a
goal for Wycombe and then removed his shirt. Apart from a
celebration, Steve Brown's action had a slightly different
motivation. His son
Maxwell had been
critically ill and he had written a message for him on his
undershirt. As
Brown had already been cautioned, referee Steve Bennet, under
the regulations
of the day had no option but to send him off.
Lawrie Sanchez
protested so
vigorously against what he saw as an insensitive and unjust
decision, that he
too was sent to the dressing room by the referee. The
instruction about
removal of shirts was given originally in 1996. It came,
curiously
perhaps, as pan of a series of instructions 'to encourage an
Increase in
Actual Playing
Time'. These included the suggestion to clubs in the top
leagues,
that they have additional footballs placed around the ground,
for ball-boys to
hand to players
to speed up the game.
This is
something done successfully at the
Madejski
Stadium, which coincidently, the same Steve Bennet stopped
when
refereeing a
Reading game, as he was concerned about having more than one
ball on the go.
However that is another story.
These
regulations instructed
referees, 'to
accelerate the restart of matches when goals have been scored.
'Celebrations
must be reasonable,' they were told, 'and in particular
referees have
to caution
players who demonstratively run around the stadium, take off
their
shirts, climb
on fences, or similar exaggerated behaviour'.
Steve Brown's
dismissal, however, seemed to hit a nerve and later that year,
this regulation was changed. Referees were told that it was
recognised that the
celebration of
a goal was an important and emotional part of football.
'Players
will no longer
be cautioned if they remove their shirt but will be cautioned
for
unsporting
behaviour if their behaviour is provocative and intended to
incite or
ridicule
opponents or opposing spectators'. Personally I wonder how
genuine
these over
exuberant celebrations really are.
I have a young
grandson who is a
Royals
supporter, and when he comes to visit he often asks to view
the video of
Reading's promotion season 1993/94. If I sit down to watch it
with him, I am
always struck,
not just by Jimmy Quin's goal-scoring but how goal
celebrations
were very low
key, only ten years ago, despite their obvious importance.
The
law makers have now had another change of heart. This year's
Laws of
the Game have a
definite instruction to referees, 'A player who removes his
jersey when
celebrating a goal must be cautioned for unsporting
behaviour'.
Lawrie Sanchez,
now manager of Northern Ireland, suffered once again last
week from
loosing a player for a goal celebration. David Healy scored to
put
Northern
Ireland two nil up against Wales, only to be sent off. This
was not for
removal of his
shirt but for what the referee, Domenico Messina of Italy, saw
as
an offensive
gesture to the crowd as part of his celebrations.
Being manager
of
Northern
Ireland, where goals are rare, must be a tough job and it can
only be
made worse when
you are down to nine players in a World Cup qualifying
match, for
celebrating one being scored. What ever you think about the
restrictions,
everyone knows they are there. I think Lawrie and indeed all
managers, need
to give their players the same advice about excessive goal
celebrations, as Oscar Wilde gave to people about to get
married - don't.
Dick
Sawdon Smith