Goal celebrations are a beautiful thing. It’s a players way of thanking his supporters and answering his critics and defectors. However, sometimes players seem to lose that plot completely. They do something unbelievably outrageous and get sent off.
To be sent off for celebrating a goal sounds pretty extreme and yet some football players have managed this unique feat. Whether out of sheer stupidity or mindless jubilation, players have often found themselves in a soup after celebrating their goals in the craziest and dumbest of ways.
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You’ll have to keep reading about it to believe it. And of course, referees can’t be blamed for sending them off once you see the wacky, and sometimes offensive things they’ve done.
So, without further ado, here’s a look at seven players from around the world who were sent off for their unique goal celebration.
1. Medi Dresevic
You might have never heard of Medi Dresevic before but the curious case of his goal celebration in August was quite the hit on Twitter. The 24-year-old defender plays for Norrby IF in the Swedish third division and after scoring his previous goal in 2011 scored a brilliant hat-trick at the end of August against Tvaaker.
Unable to control his excitement after scoring a half-volley to complete his hattrick, Dresevic ran into the stands and pretended to applaud himself like a fan.
Unfortunately for him, he was already on a yellow and even though the fans found his celebration hilarious, the referee didn’t quite see it that way. As soon as he returned to the pitch, the referee showed him a second yellow and sent him off for the game. His team-mates weren’t too amused by his antics either, seemingly berating him for his whimsical celebration.
The club came around to seeing the funny side of the matter after they secured a 6-1 victory and shared footage of the incident on their official Twitter account.
2. Roman Shirokov
Another goal, another celebration, another red card and this time from Russia. Roman Shirokov was introduced as a substitute to a mixed reception of boos and cheers during Zenit St Petersburg’s final game of the 2013 Russian Premier League campaign. He must not have appreciated the reaction of his own supporters as is evident from what he did later.
He scored the winner from close range against Volga Nizhny in added time and proceeded to celebrate by showing the ‘up yours’ sign to home fans. Whether the fans or his teammates were offended or not, the referee sure was.
By the time Shirokov turned around from his celebration, the referee was brandishing a red card at him. Definitely not funny and deeply disrespectful, this was one celebration that deserved a sending off.
3. Fidel Martinez
Fidel Martinez’s goal celebration and consequent sending off can be chalked down to sheer daftness. The Ecuadorian made the assist for fellow Tijuana teammate Dubies Rascos’ goal against Toluca. Unfortunately for him, dancing in celebration wasn’t enough. He just had to break away with Rascos and do the most inappropriate thing.
He feigned to take a shot with an imaginary gun at Rascos who then proceeded to act dead. The referee didn't think their little tableau was suitable at all since Mexico has one of the highest murder rates in the world. He was quick to show Martinez a direct red for his foolish action.
4. Striker unknown
Now this is a good one. This particular sending off makes it to the list despite having no recognisable players involved because of the pure madness of this moment. The goal celebration comes from the recesses of lower league football in Italy and deserves to be recognised for its originality if nothing else.
A young Italian striker, after scoring a goal from close quarters ran to the dugout and then proceeded to ram his head right through it. He may not have thought it through in his excitement but he was lucky the dugout was made of some form of tough plastic and not glass as his head went through the material.
No one will know what urged him to celebrate in quite such a manner, he may not know himself but it sure was fun to watch. If Italy had their version of America’s Funniest Videos, this would definitely make it to the show.
The referee didn’t see the funny side of it and must have only noticed the property damage because he quickly dismissed the player from the field after showing him a red card.
5. Edinson Cavani
After last night’s fiasco against Arsenal in the Champions League when Edinson Cavani missed all of nine chances to score, it makes sense he’d be someone who got sent off for a goal celebration. He seems to be an expert at making gaffs and he made one such mistake after scoring Paris Saint-Germain’s third goal against Lens back in 2013.
After converting from the spot, Cavani celebrated with his signature sniper celebration. However, the referee was not going to have it. He booked Cavani and then when the Uruguayan striker continued pleading with the referee, showed him another yellow resulting in his sending off. A rare occurrence for sure, Cavani’s celebration earned him a red card on a night where the referee sent off two other players.
6. Aleksandar Dragovic
Another card-happy referee who, quite questionably, sent off Basel's Aleksandar Dragovic in 2013 for his goal celebration. Basel beat their opponents Servette 2-1 in the Swiss Super League that night thanks to Dragovic’s brace. However, the referee wasn’ too impressed by his feat since he felt the need to send the centre-back off after he scored his winning goal.
Dragovic faced the Servette fans making an 'up yours' gesture (him too?) and vigorously ran towards his team's bench. The referee obviously saw this as an attempt to rile Servetter supporters leading him to book the Austrian defender for a second time that night resulting in a red card.
Dragovic later claimed that the gesture was never meant for the Servette fans but Basel's assistant manager who had bet Dragovic he wouldn't score from a header. Hopefully, the young defender was happy about winning his bet since he wasn’t exactly rewarded for it. Skip to minute 3:32 of the video for the best part
7. Mario Gjurovski
The best has obviously been reserved for last. Whatever your knowledge may be about the Thai Super League, this is one story you must know. Mario Gjurovski, a Macedonian football player got very creative when he scored a goal for his club Muangthong. It’s hard to say how high he may have been, but his goal celebration definitely wasn’t the work of a sober man with a sound mind.
After scoring, Gjurovski took his shorts off and put it on his head in celebration exposing his behind to all eyes that suffered the great misfortune of witnessing his public indecency. While it does make for a good cheap laugh, the referee wasn’t having any of it. The card was out. It was red. And Djurovski was gone just like his shorts.
