FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates his goal against Racing Santander as he shows a message on his undershirt reading "happy birthday mummy". -AP Photo

MADRID: Lionel Messi has been fined for lifting his shirt to reveal a vest wishing his mother a happy birthday after scoring a goal for Barcelona, the Spanish football federation said on Tuesday.

The world player of the year ran over to a television camera to reveal the words “Happy birthday, mami” on an undershirt after scoring a penalty in Barca's 3-0 home win over Racing Santander on Saturday.

The referee did not book the Argentine forward for the celebration but mentioned the action in his match report.

The federation's disciplinary committee punished Messi under their article 91.1 for goal celebrations, which carries a fine of between 2000 and 3000 euros, and awarded him a yellow card.

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...