Gillette to cover £10 fines for grassroots footballers booked for shirt-off celebrations

Gillette will reimburse eligible grassroots footballers for the £10 fines they receive for removing their shirts to celebrate goals, as part of a campaign calling for the automatic yellow card to be scrapped.

The initiative will run until the end of the year, allowing eligible players and clubs to claim back the £10 penalty for each yellow card issued for a shirt-off celebration.

While professional players can face financial penalties alongside their sporting sanctions, the cost can also affect grassroots football, where disciplinary charges are invoiced to clubs and may ultimately be passed on to individual players.

For amateur teams and players, where budgets are often tight, even relatively small fines can make a difference.

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Nonsense rule

The scheme forms part of Gillette’s Worth Celebrating campaign, fronted by former Arsenal striker and pundit Ian Wright, which is urging football authorities to scrap the rule requiring players to receive a yellow card for removing their shirts after scoring.

Wright, a Gillette ambassador, said: “Celebrating when you score isn’t a planned thing, you do what feels right in the moment.

“It’s nonsense to punishing players with a yellow card for taking their shirt off. And even worse to fine a grassroots team for it.

“I hope we can get rid of this rule once and for all!”

The ‘Celebration Shirt’

To demonstrate its commitment to shirt-off celebrations, Gillette has partnered with football culture brand Cult Kits to design the ‘Celebration Shirt’.

The quick-release kit features a popper construction, allowing players to rip it off in seconds after scoring.

All profits from sales of the ‘Celebration Shirt’ will go to Gillette’s longstanding charity partner, Football Beyond Borders.

The charity inspires young people to become the best versions of themselves through positive role models.

Senior communications manager at Gillette, Liam Sargeant, added: “The response to our campaign so far has been incredible.

“Thousands of fans have already signed our petition calling for the shirt-off celebration yellow card rule to be scrapped.

“We’re proud to be covering the unfair £10 fines until, hopefully, we can play a part in overturning the rule.

“Football should be about championing the best of the game, not worrying about the cost of celebrating.

“We want to do all we can to support players who are simply there to play football.

“The Gillette x Cult Kits Celebration Shirt is another example of how we’re supporting grassroots players to celebrate freely both on and off the pitch.”

Players can find out more about the Worth Celebrating campaign, including eligibility criteria and how to submit a Yellow Card cashback claim at Gillette.co.uk. UK only. 18+. First 1,000 eligible entrants only. T&Cs apply.

The Celebration Shirt is now available for sale at cultkits.com

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