It's important to keep soccer celebrations from going too far

Oh my, has IHSA soccer become the local equivalent of the "No Fun League," that derisive term used for the celebration-free National Football League?

Twice in this year's tournament, the St. Charles North boys soccer team had players cautioned for excessive celebration. What's worse, each of the yellow cards resulted in the players involved being suspended for the next playoff game.

So is it still OK to celebrate a goal?

Yes, but there are limits, and a careful reading of the rules, a little closer listening to St. Charles North coach Eric Willson or a little more watching of the game at a higher level might have eliminated both offenses. I don't know exactly how much of the rules the players know, how closely they listened to their coach or just how much soccer they watch.

But the facts are these: there are rules on celebration, although like all sporting rules, there are areas in which referees have discretion for what they call and do not call.

Willson talked to his team about celebrations. Professionals are cautioned all the time for certain types of celebrations and each instance could have been avoided because each of these incidents routinely results in a yellow card in matches all over the world.

First, here are some general thoughts on celebrations. FIFA, the world soccer body has this to say from its interpretation of Rule 12, which deals with cautionable (yellow card) offense:

"While it is permissible for a player to demonstrate his joy when a goal has been scored, the celebration must not be excessive."

Wonderfully vague, isn't it? Define excessive? I have seen players "knight" goal scorers with the corner flag after they have scored. I have seen players symbolically shine the shoes of the goal scorer. Backflips have been around for ages, and became very popular when Mexican striker Hugo Sanchez began vaulting all over the place when he scored for Real Madrid in the 1980s.

All forms of dances, variations of high fives and other gymnastic moves take place, and that's not counting those who pretend to "rock the baby" by swaying their arms back and forth in unison.

As FIFA's one-line commentary allows, there must be some way for players to express their sense of joy in scoring because it doesn't happen that often.

Sanchez once explained his flipping. He said the team trained all week and then worked throughout the game to work together to create a goal. When it happened, Sanchez said his flip was an outward expression of his joy that all that effort had culminated in something exciting.

But where is the line and where is it crossed?

The incidents involving the St. Charles North players were very different. In the first, a player had already been yellow carded for kicking away the ball after a free kick was called. The incident occurred right in front of the referee, and no one argued when a yellow card was shown.

Then the player involved scored. He removed his shirt and ran with it over his head from the center of the field to the sideline nearest the grandstand.

If this had been a match governed by FIFA's rules, the player would have been immediately yellow-carded. Shirt removal, putting a shirt over one's head, waving it like a towel, these automatically earn a yellow card.

The high school rules do not include shirt removal as an automatic yellow card offense, as has been the case professionally since 2004.

But unsporting behavior is bookable - shirt removal as such is not the offense - it is the unsporting nature of the removal of the shirt. Shirts weren't just being removed, they were being removed to display photos of children or T-shirts with political or religious messages written on them.

So FIFA stepped in. In clarifying the rule, they issued a statement, which said, in part, "Removing one's shirt after scoring is unnecessary and players should avoid such excessive displays of joy."

Perhaps had the player removed the shirt, twirled it overhead and run back to the center circle, that would have been allowable under high school rules. It's hard to say, because the referee has ultimate discretion. But that's not what happened. And as I've said, "unsporting conduct" covers a wide range of potential offenses.

The next instance is a little more clear-cut. A player scored, then ran toward the grandstand where the opposition fans were. First the player put his hand to his lips to make the universal sign for "shhh." But then the player was seen to move his hand in a throat-slashing gesture.

I admit I missed the second gesture, though I spoke with a referee who was not working the match but was in the stands as a fan and he confirmed the sighting. The match official did not himself see the initial incident, although the assistant referee did.

In the same paragraph that includes unsporting conduct, there is specific reference taunting. The non-working referee I spoke with mentioned that he would have allowed the "shhh" gesture, but not the throat slash.

That slashing gesture has been much discussed at the NCAA level, where it has been seen in college football games, where it is punished as a personal foul. In soccer, the behavior that draws a 15-yard personal foul penalty will get you a yellow card.

My thought on this one is just a massive "why?" Even the "shhh" gesture is a move toward the other team's fans. Celebrate with your own fans - but keep your shirt on while doing it. Or better yet, celebrate with your teammates. They're the ones who helped create the goal in the first place. They're the ones who sweated through practice for three months, worked hard through the match, made the passes and created the space from which the goals eventually came. Or certainly salute the fans, your fans. But as soon as you move to the opposition fans, you've crossed another line, regardless of what you do with your hands.

There was a time when scorers just shook hands and then went to the center circle and restarted the match. Those days went away with color television. There's nothing wrong with celebrating - even elaborately. Hugo Sanchez was right - a lot of unseen work comes to fruition when the ball hits the back of the net and it is cause for a celebration.

But overdone celebration not only not only draws attention solely to the goal scorer, it may also draw the referee's hand into the pocket in which red and yellow cards reside - and no goal is worth that.