Tony Cascarino has questioned why players are getting booked for taking their shirt off after that happened to Mohamed Salah during Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The former striker stated ‘are we getting lost here’, as he told talkSPORT, in regards to the Liverpool man being shown a yellow card for his actions at Anfield.
A crazy stat that emerged from the weekend is that Salah has been booked four times during his Liverpool career – and three of those are for taking his shirt off.
Well, given the lean and ripped physique the £34 Liverpool man has (BBC Sport) then it’s a surprise that he’s not showcasing his body more.
It’s understandable if a player is booked for trying to convey a message on a shirt they shouldn’t, or it is deemed political.
But, in some cases, players are just paying tribute to a lost loved one, or they are just taking their shirt off after scoring a goal, so it’s baffling why there is such a draconian rule in place for this.
When players are booked for going into a crowd, there is logic behind that because it comes down to safety of the player and the crowd.
Nonetheless, Cascarino laughed that Salah has a ‘hell of a body on him’ like a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, but thinks players getting booked needs to stop.
“I did find it funny and I have got to say this,” said Cascarino. “I am not sure where we are on taking your shirt off because Mo has taken his shirt off.
“By the way, he has a hell of a body on him. Everyone talks about Ronaldo. Are we getting a little lost here? I don’t know why they are getting booked? Is it that bad to take off your shirt?
“There are players with t-shirts on as well. They have messages, like Leon Bailey had when he took his shirt off.
“We understand, politically, you can’t go down the political road or an offensive message. But players aren’t doing that. They are putting heartfelt messages on. Do we really need to carry on with this? Are we hurting anyone?”
Well, whether Salah gets booked or not, it seems as though him taking his shirt off to celebrate a goal won’t be stopping any time soon.
And Liverpool fans will want to see plenty more of it because it means him putting the ball into the back of the net a lot more.
It has been a strong start to the season for the Egyptian, who missed out on the Golden Boot to Harry Kane last time out.
Well, the Tottenham man is yet to score a Premier League goal this term, so he will be fancying his chances this time.
Salah has four goals in five league games, although a certain Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku will have something to say about that.
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