Premier League plot crackdown on players' 'mockery' celebrations

The Premier League is reportedly set to monitor footballers' celebrations and could potentially punish them if they are considered 'critical or mocking'.

The development comes after Myles Lewis-Skelly was criticised for imitating Erling Haaland's famous meditation pose after the youngster scored the third goal in a 5-1 win over Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

However, the 18-year-old has reportedly hit back after the Norwegian mocked him at the end of the 2-2 draw between the teams at the Etihad Stadium last year by asking: 'Who are you?'

According to Sky Sports, the regulations may come into force after several players have been criticised for their celebrations, which damaged the game's reputation and potentially provoked opposition teams' fans.

Furthermore, the Premier League's chief football officer, Tony Scholes, said: 'There's a balance. I think we all like to see celebrations.

'Some of the celebrations have been very funny, entertaining, but there's a line. Once it crosses over into mockery or criticism then we would need to deal with it.'

Leicester City captain Jamie Vardy is well-known for his mockery celebrations after he added another insult against Tottenham last month, scoring a goal and then pointing to his Premier League badge, making fun of Spurs' trophy room.

Expectedly, the gesture caused the stadium to explode in insults from the fans, who were reminded of their side's close attempt to win the league in 2015-16 when the Lily Whites had their best attempt to lift the trophy.

Two years ago, Vardy mocked Wolves in a 4-0 at the Molineux Stadium by howling toward the home fans after scoring his goal in the 79th minute.

In 2019, he famously mocked Crystal Palace supporters at Selhurst Park by mimicking an eagle. However, he did not receive a yellow or red card for his actions.

However, this year, James Maddison and Neal Maupay had an on-field rivalry after the Brentford forward mocked the Spurs midfielder by copying his famous darts throw celebration alongside Ivan Toney.

This gesture caused a heated exchange at the end of the game and more comments on social media from both athletes.

The Tottenham star posted a picture of Maupay on his Instagram doing the celebration, alongside the caption: 'A short story... COYS'.

Maupay commented under Maddison's post: 'Ahaha rent free,' with kissing emojis.

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was also spotted mocking Marcus Rashford's celebration two years ago by putting his index finger to the side of his head - a gesture that went viral during the Englishman's top run of form in 2022-23.

In the last campaign, Alejandro Garnacho imitated Mohammed Kudus' celebration when the West Ham player sat on the advertising board in front of fans at the London stadium.

At the moment, it is also known that Iliman Ndiaye was booked for flapping his arms like a gull as he scored the only goal for Everton against Brighton at Goodison Park in January.

Lewis-Skelly did not receive a yellow card, but Jamie Carragher later criticised him, revealing he was not impressed with his gesture.

He said: 'I said about have football arrogance on the pitch and I loved it. I didn't like this because he's a young player mimicking Haaland, taking the mick.

'I know what Haaland said but he's a young player and we all get carried away as young players. It's a huge moment for him.'