Liverpool player could face a sanction if deemed guilty of flouting obscure rule on Sunday

One Liverpool player could be facing punishment over his celebrations at Anfield on Sunday if he’s deemed guilty of breaching one of the sport’s more obscure laws.

The Reds’ third goal in the 5-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur – a result which secured the club’s 20th league title, which’ll be marked with a victory parade next month – was scored by Cody Gakpo, who celebrated his strike by removing his LFC shirt to reveal a vest bearing the message ‘I Belong to Jesus’.

The 25-year-old was shown the mandatory yellow card from Thomas Bramall for taking off his jersey, not that anyone else in the stadium was bothered as the home side’s crowning moment drew ever closer, but that mightn’t be the only sanction he receives for that act.

Liverpool forward Gakpo facing sanction for breaching obscure FA law

As reported by The Telegraph, the Liverpool forward could yet be charged with a breach of a little-known rule prohibiting the displaying of religious messages.

Law 4 in the FA handbook states that “Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images. Players must not reveal undergarments that show political, religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer’s logo.

“For any offence the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, national football association or by FIFA.”

The nature of any punishment which may be handed down to Gakpo hasn’t been specified.

Let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill…

Alright, we get it – the authorities can’t just pick and choose what rules to follow and which ones to ignore, and we understand the reasoning for having laws against political or religious statements in order to prevent instances of provocative messages being conveyed about sensitive topics.

However, to think that Liverpool’s number 18 could be sanctioned for a momentary display of jubilation in scoring a goal which helped to secure the Premier League title seems baffling, especially when far more sinister offences can escape punishment if the referee fails to act (yes, Jordan Pickford, that means you).

We don’t know yet what sanction Gakpo might receive (if any) for his ‘I Belong to Jesus’ undergarment. It may be in the form of a fine or – if the FA are being exceptionally uptight – even a suspension; not that the latter would have any great significance now that we’re guaranteed to finish the season as champions.

This innocuous act from the Dutchman threatens to open up a can of worms about the laws of the game and the imposition of punishments not befitting of their ‘crime’, but hopefully the relevant authorities will take a common sense approach to handling the matter and that the 25-year-old won’t be dealt with in excessively heavy-handed fashion.

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