Celebrations that saw footballers sent off including star putting shorts on head and striker headbutting dugout

CELEBRATIONS have become a prevalent part of the modern game, with elaborate routines and signature moves now a regular fixture at matches.

But some players have allowed their joy to get the better of them over the years, and .

Though officials are giving increasingly long leashes to teams cheering on a goalscorer, Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game still prohibits “excessive” celebrations, and the referee has the power to caution players for “gesturing or acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way.”

While it is not common to see the Law invoked – beyond handing out bookings for taking a shirt off – the regulations have produced some incredibly bizarre instances of players receiving their marching orders after getting overzealous with their celebrations.

Neymar

superstar is known for his performative flair, which was in full force when the then-19-year-old star took on Colo-Colo in the Copa Libertadores.

In typical Neymar fashion, the winger picked up the ball on the edge of the box, flicked it over an opponents head and dinked the onrushing keeper, before heading towards the crowd and picking up a paper mask of his own face.

He proceeded to put the mask on (upside down) before celebrating with his team-mates – only to turn around and see the referee showing him a second yellow card.

The Laws of the Game specify a yellow card for anyone “covering the head or face with a mask or other similar item” while celebrating – a detail which a furious Neymar must have missed, but the official certainly did not.

Mario Gjurovski

Macedonian international Mario Gjurovski was the recipient of one of the silliest red cards the game has ever seen thanks to his bizarre celebration for Muangthong United.

The Belgrade-born forward, 40, neatly chipped the ball over the opposing keeper, before peeling off to the side of the pitch and pointing to the crowd.

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17:00

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League A – Group 1 Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

4

10

5

3

1

0

2

4

7

3

2

1

1

3

4

6

1

2

0

2

4

4

0

-9

0

0

4

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1

4

8

2

2

2

0

2

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8

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2

2

0

3

4

5

1

1

2

1

4

4

0

-5

0

0

4

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1

4

12

7

4

0

0

2

4

9

11

3

0

1

3

4

3

-10

1

0

3

4

4

0

-8

0

0

4

League A – Group 4 Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

4

12

5

4

0

0

2

4

6

0

2

0

2

3

4

3

-3

1

0

3

4

4

3

-2

1

0

3

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4

12

10

4

0

0

2

Slovenia

4

7

2

2

1

1

3

4

4

-2

1

1

2

4

4

0

-10

0

0

4

League B – Group 2 Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

4

8

4

2

2

0

2

4

7

1

2

1

1

3

4

4

-3

1

1

2

4

Georgia

4

2

-2

0

2

2

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1

4

8

4

2

2

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2

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1

3

4

5

2

1

2

1

4

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2

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4

10

4

3

1

0

2

4

8

3

2

2

0

3

4

4

3

1

1

2

4

4

0

-10

0

0

4

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4

9

5

3

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1

2

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1

1

3

4

7

7

2

1

1

4

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-15

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4

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10

3

3

1

0

2

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7

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2

1

1

3

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4

4

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1

1

2

4

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4

1

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0

1

3

League C – Group 3 Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

4

10

7

3

1

0

2

Faroe Islands

4

4

0

0

4

0

3

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4

4

-5

1

1

2

4

Kazakhstan

4

2

-2

0

2

2

League C – Group 4 Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

4

8

6

2

2

0

2

Estonia

4

6

1

1

3

0

3

Bulgaria

4

4

-2

1

1

2

4

Luxembourg

4

3

-5

1

0

3

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1

Malta

3

7

2

2

1

0

2

Gibraltar

2

2

0

0

2

0

3

Andorra

3

1

-2

0

1

2

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1

Azerbaijan

3

5

1

1

2

0

2

Lithuania

3

4

1

1

1

1

3

Liechtenstein

2

1

-2

0

1

1

But he took things further when he made the bonkers decision to take off his shorts and place them on his head, before pretending to spray the crowd with mimed gunfire.

If the celebration wasn’t overly dignified, being shown a second yellow card as he tried not to trip over while putting his shorts back on was surely a wake-up call that some celebrations should never make it onto the pitch.

Riolo Terme forward

An attacker for amateur Italian club Riolo Terme took that idea a step too far, however, as his energetic celebrations after tapping home a scrappy winner led him off the pitch and into the technical areas.

The player had poked the ball over the line after the opposing keeper spilled a tame free-kick effort, and then took off down the sideline in jubilation.

It appeared as though he was going to celebrate with the substitutes and coaching staff, but when he reached the group he feinted past them and inexplicably headbutted the plastic siding of the dugout, smashing it to pieces and throwing almost his entire body through the hole he created.

Somehow he still appeared shocked when the referee showed him a straight red card as a result of the outburst, though the shocked expressions and awkward laughs of his team-mates following the incident suggested they were more clued in on what was about to happen.

Carlos Tevez

Premier League icon could not contain himself after scoring an 88th-minute strike for to make it 2-1 on aggregate against fierce rivals in a 2004 Copa Libertadores semi-final.

The star immediately whipped his shirt off and ran towards the side of the pitch, where he then tucked his arms in and began to flap them as though mimicking a chicken – a derogatory term used to refer to River Plate.

The referee was not impressed with the display, and showed the star a straight red for unsportsmanlike conduct, while mimicking the dance in his face for good measure.

River Plate equalised on aggregate barely five minutes later, but Boca were able to get the tie over the line on penalties, before losing to Colombian side Once Caldas in the final.