Gillette to Refund £10 Grassroots Fines for Shirt-Off Goal Celebrations

Gillette will reimburse eligible UK grassroots footballers for the £10 fine that can follow a yellow card for removing their shirt after scoring, with the offer opening on 10 October. It is part of the brand’s ‘Worth Celebrating’ campaign with Ian Wright, which wants the automatic caution for shirt-off celebrations scrapped.

The cashback runs until the end of 2026 or until 1,000 qualifying fines have been repaid, whichever comes first. Claimants must be UK residents aged 18 or over, and the fine must have been issued specifically for a shirt-off celebration. With claims capped at 1,000, the most Gillette could pay out is £10,000. Gillette says fines of this size can matter to smaller teams on tight budgets, where the cost may fall on the club or the individual player. Terms and conditions apply, and full criteria and the claim process are on Gillette UK’s website.

Research by Gillette, reported by Outsports, found that 64% of football fans would still be happy to see their team’s goalscorer take their shirt off, whether or not it led to a booking. Wright, who backs the campaign, argues that celebrating is instinctive and that players shouldn’t be punished for it. “You do what feels right in the moment,” he said. The campaign also includes a petition to remove the rule.

The caution was introduced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in 2004. Under the Laws of the Game, players may celebrate, but not excessively or in a way that wastes time, and removing the shirt carries an automatic yellow card. Provocation of opponents and supporters and political messages under the shirt are the concerns usually cited, and some explainers also point to sponsors’ branding being covered, though the Laws don’t mention this specifically. Any change would have to go through IFAB, and Outsports described the petition as unlikely to prompt a response.

Chloe Kelly was booked for removing her shirt after scoring England’s winner against Germany in the Euro 2022 final, a moment compared with Brandi Chastain’s celebration at the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Chastain later wrote that the image would become “one of the most iconic in all of sports history.” Outsports argued that women’s football has missed out on more images like it because of the rule. Moments like these can show girls who play that they can celebrate in the same way as players in the men’s game.

Gillette is also promoting its GilletteLabs BODY + INTIMATE grooming range alongside the campaign. It has released the Gillette x Cult Kits Celebration Shirt, which has quick-release poppers, on sale since 7 October, with all profits going to Football Beyond Borders, the young people’s charity it partners with. For players, the cashback is the part with a practical benefit, and the rest of the campaign is mainly light-hearted, though supporters of the campaign can sign its petition here.