There has been collective 'outrage' to Tim Cahill’s goal celebration on Sunday, after he had put Everton 2-1 up against Portsmouth.

The Australian midfielder dedicated the goal to his brother by pretending to be handcuffed. His brother, Sean, was jailed for six years in January for an unprovoked attack which left his victim almost blind.

Now there is no way anyone can defend Sean Cahill and the British judicial authorities have sentenced him as they see fit. But the collective criticism of brother Tim is indicative of a recent trend within the football community to stamp out goal celebrations.

'Celebrations give an identity to players who are often not eloquent enough to do the same in an interview after the game'


Ex-England striker Jimmy Greaves said in The Sun: "You score a goal and, really, celebrations should be made. But they should be kept to a reasonable, sensible and intelligent level." Greaves played in a different era, when goals were celebrated by handshakes. In the frenetic world of Premier League football it would be crazy for players not to use this one moment of glory to voice their own personal messages if they so desire.

Ex-Everton striker Graeme Sharp has defended Cahill, saying: "Knowing Tim as I do I can understand that he feels very strongly about his family and he's obviously very disappointed with how things have gone. Tim's been through a hard time with the circumstances surrounding his brother and it's just a way of showing his support for him."

Sharp is spot-on. Regardless of the crime committed by his brother, Cahill should be able to celebrate in his own way. There is no way the Australian box-to-box midfielder was condoning the actions of his brother, merely showing some love and affection for a close family member.

But at the heart of this debate there is a worrying trend for goal celebrations to be curtailed. UEFA have decreed for a few seasons now that a player who takes his shirt off will receive a yellow card and interaction with the crowd is frowned upon. As a result, two of the greatest goal celebrations in history would not be allowed in modern football.

Fabrizio Ravanelli made his name by scoring goals and lifting his shirt above his head in celebration. Due to the current draconian rules, the White Feather would be unable to celebrate in his customary way. Likewise Bernie Slaven, the old Middlesbrough striker, built up a great rapport with fans at Ayresome Park by jumping on the railings after every goal he scored at Boro’s former home. He, too, would be unable to do this today.

Surely these rules go against the whole nature of football and the essence of the game. Goal celebrations can do a lot of good, like Robbie Fowler's celebratory support for the mineworkers.

Fowler, of course, once 'sniffed the touchline' after a goal against Everton to rubbish rumours that he was addicted to cocaine. Again this caused controversy, but only among the authorities who are so clearly out of touch with the fans. It is exactly these sorts of celebrations that make fans feel closer to the players and of course make the game interesting.

From a slightly different angle came Matt Derbyshire’s 'baby cradling' celebration after his winner at Newcastle. But footballers need to find something new to welcome their new offspring.

It is amazing that Cahill has been widely criticised for his actions after that goal on Sunday. Celebrations are crucial to the beautiful game – they give an identity to players who are often not eloquent enough to do the same in an interview after the game.

Cahill made his statement, and rightly or wrongly that is his prerogative. Football needs more and varied goal celebrations; the game is after all about scoring a goal. When did the authorities lose sight of this?