Hackett exclusive: Phil Foden and more face surprise Premier League crackdown
Man City ace Phil Foden is one of those who could find himself under scrutiny over the Premier League’s new plans for cracking down on goal celebrations, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the league are taking a “positive step” by putting plans in place to punish celebrations that could be viewed as mocking.
There have been instances where goal celebrations have come under scrutiny recently, with Everton attacker Iliman Ndiaye yellow carded for mimicking a seagull after scoring a penalty against Brighton.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s replication of Erling Haaland’s celebration during Arsenal’s win over Man City has also generated plenty of discussion.
That now appears to have prompted a response from the Premier League, and Hackett believes it is the right one.
Man City man in firing line as Premier League set out celebration plans
Earlier this week, it emerged that the Premier League are considering imposing punishments on individual players if they are deemed to be mocking or criticising opponents with their goal celebrations.
That comes in the wake of those other incidents, and Hackett believes Foden, who often celebrates by pretending to fire a gun when he scores for Man City, is another who may be under the spotlight with these rules.
The former referee did also suggest that he is in favour of the Premier League taking such action over celebrations with these plans.
Keith Hackett highlights Premier League safety issues
Speaking to Football Insider about this suggestion that has been put forward by the league, and examples that may be looked at, Hackett said: “It is a positive step by the Premier League to attempt to curb the growth of over the top goal celebrations.
“Phil Foden pointing an imaginary gun in celebration, that moves towards the opponents and making mocking signs.
“The more serious approach is to run towards the crowd and run the risk of a dangerous crowd surge. However this should not dilute the referees responsibility to apply the law on this matter.
“I think there’s been a few surprises with the announcement by the Premier League that they intend to clamp down on goal celebrations.
“We have seen some outrageous incidents that are delaying the restart of the game. However, the reality is that within the laws of the game of course, the referee can take action.
“Particularly with those players that leave the field of play and create crowd surges, so there is a safety element to this statement.”
After a tough start to the season, Foden has recently rediscovered something of a scoring touch in front of goal again, so this update may give the Man City man something else to consider.