Galatasaray's Goal Celebration Sparks Yellow Card Debate

Galatasaray defeated Amed Sportif Faaliyetleri 4-3 at home last night in Week 11 of the Süper Lig, going into the international break at the top of the table. After Rafael Leão scored the club's first goal, the celebration by the players became a matter of debate.

Galatasaray players made a reference to Ismail Jakobs, who, after beating Stuttgart in the Champions League earlier in the week, pulled his sweater over his head to avoid being filmed leaving a nightclub. The players covered their faces with their shirts while celebrating. These images brought yellow card discussions to the agenda on social media.

On the Trio programme broadcast on beIN Sports, former referees Bülent Yıldırım and Seçim Demirel discussed the matter. Yıldırım argued that, according to the rulebook, players who cover their faces with their shirts should receive a yellow card. However, he said that showing cards to all seven players was not possible in practice, and that one or two players, the ones who started the incident or were the most aggressive, could be booked.

Seçim Demirel stated that yellow cards should be shown to players in cases such as provocation, commercial advertising, religious expression or time wasting. Demirel said that in this incident only the excessive celebration clause applied, and that it would not be right to show cards to all the players.