The Ayatollah is a football celebration used by fans of the Welsh football club, Cardiff City. [1] Performing the action is sometimes preceded by a chant of "do the Ayatollah".
Contents
The Ayatollah is a football celebration used by fans of the Welsh football club, Cardiff City. [1] Performing the action is sometimes preceded by a chant of "do the Ayatollah".
Performing the Ayatollah is done by having both hands flat pointing towards each other, raised above the head, and repeatedly moving them up and down in a patting motion. [2]
The Ayatollah celebration came into use at the Cardiff City games in 1990. It was originally performed by the singers and fans of a Welsh-language punk group called U Thant. It was first performed by the Cardiff City fans at the Sincil Bank, home of Lincoln City, on 15 September 1990, the day after U Thant had played a gig at Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre. [3] U Thant's singer had been inspired by footage of attendants at the funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini, which was broadcast live on British TV, doing the movement to express their grief at his death. [4]
It has been claimed that it was initially used as a sign of despair at the way the team was playing. It quickly became very popular with the fans of the club and has since been used in terms of celebration and support for the team. Away games at Hereford United and Peterborough United in 1992 helped cement its place in the fans' repertoire. [3]
The start of the Ayatollah has often mistakenly been credited to the former chairman Sam Hammam. [5] This is probably due to the national coverage of Hammam performing the celebration pitchside and in front of the visiting Leeds fans, drawing criticism from the then-Leeds manager David O'Leary, the Football Association and a BBC undercover report, following the 2–1 victory over Leeds United in the third round of the FA Cup in 2002, which saw crowd trouble after the final whistle. [6]
The Ayatollah is now performed by the supporters of Cardiff City at every match. They, in turn, sing for each stand at their former home ground Ninian Park and current home ground Cardiff City Stadium to "Do the Ayatollah". During matches, players performing well in the game, or players who have just been brought on during the match, are called to "Do the Ayatollah". [7] Arsenal's former Cardiff player, Aaron Ramsey, also celebrated his second goal against Cardiff by doing the Ayatollah in a premier league match in November 2013. [8]
Other people in the ground are also often called on to perform the move, including the team's manager, away fans, former players on opposing sides (although managers of the teams have strongly discouraged it so it is rarely performed), and police officers on duty at the match.
Doing the Ayatollah has also become popular for famous Cardiff fans to do when celebrating. The ex-Wales rugby union team captain Gareth Thomas often performed the Ayatollah after scoring a try, [9] the swimmer David Davies performed the Ayatollah on the podium while receiving his medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and at the 2008 Olympics, and the cricketer Simon Jones also used the celebration after taking the wicket of Simon Katich during the 2005 Ashes series. [10] Mark Webster, winner of the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, also performed the Ayatollah after winning the title. The Ayatollah has also been used by ice hockey fans of the Cardiff Devils when winning the Play-off Championship in 1999. The Big Brother housemate and Cardiff supporter David Vaughan frequently did the Ayatollah after winning tasks in the house in 2010.
Former Cardiff players and footballers who are fans of Cardiff have often performed the Ayatollah at the home grounds of the Bluebirds' bitter rivals Swansea City. The midfielder Gavin Williams, a lifelong Cardiff fan, performed it at Vetch Field after scoring against them for his former club Yeovil Town, [11] and the former Cardiff player Christian Roberts performed the Ayatollah when he scored against them at the Liberty Stadium after being verbally abused throughout the match for being a former Cardiff player. [12] The Nottingham Forest winger Arron Davies said that he would love to become the first player to "do the Ayatollah" at Wembley Stadium had he and his then team, Yeovil Town, reached the Football League One play-off final. [13] The former player Joe Ledley performed the Ayaltollah while celebrating Crystal Palace's late won point at the Liberty on 2 March 2014. Cameron Jerome celebrated his goal in a 1–0 for Norwich away at Cardiff on 4 February 2017.
In recognition of the long established routine of "Doing the Ayatollah", leading Cardiff City forum CardiffCityForum.com, ran a competition to find the best Ayatollah celebration carried out by former and current players, coaches and managers. The competition was devised and run by Cardiff City fan Woody who also designed and created the trophy using a 3D Printer. The competition reached its finale in August 2021 when Oumar Niasse was announced as the winner, beating Aaron Ramsey in the inaugural Final with 74.2% of the vote. [14]
| Year | Winner | Percentage | Runner-up | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oumar Niasse | 74.2% | Aaron Ramsey | 25.8% |
| 2022 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 2023 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
The Ayatollah was the focus of two songs written in support of the club before they played in the 2008 FA Cup Final. A group of supporters released a song named "Do The Ayatollah!" [15] and a different song under the same title was written by one of the club's players, Steve Thompson. [16]
Swansea City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their home matches at the Swansea.com Stadium since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club was founded.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since 1946 and a member of UEFA since 1954.
Samir Georges Nassib Hammam is a Lebanese businessman, well known for his high-profile involvement in British football clubs, and who most recently relinquished the life presidency of Cardiff City in March 2022 following a legal dispute.
Peter Ridsdale is an English businessman who is a director at Preston North End. He was until December 2011 the Chairman of Football Operations at Plymouth Argyle. Ridsdale was previously the chairman of Leeds United, Barnsley and Cardiff City.
Daniel Leon Gabbidon is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City, West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, and Panteg. He also played for the Wales national team.
Kasper Peter Schmeichel is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Denmark national team.
Ross McCormack is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liversedge.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C., the club changed its name to Cardiff City in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910 before joining the English Football League in 1920. The team has spent 17 seasons in the top tier of English football, the longest period being between 1921 and 1929. Their most recent season in the top flight was the 2018–19 Premier League season.
Christopher Ross Gunter is a Welsh former footballer who last played as a defender for EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon. An attacking full back, he was capable of playing on both flanks but usually played on his preferred right side. Since 2023, he has been a coach for the Wales national team.
The Cardiff City Stadium is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team.
Jason Peter Bowen is a Welsh former international footballer. During his career, he made over 500 league appearances and was capped twice by Wales in a career which started at Swansea City. He made over 100 league appearances for the club and played in their 1994 Football League Trophy Final victory over Huddersfield Town. In 1995, he was sold to Birmingham City for £350,000.
Alan Thomas Curtis is a former Wales international footballer, who played as a forward; he is currently the honorary club president of Swansea City.
Aaron James Ramsey is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Cardiff City and captains the Wales national team. Ramsey mainly plays as a box-to-box midfielder, but has also been deployed on the left and right wings.
The Cardiff City F.C. Academy is the youth football academy at Welsh side Cardiff City. The category two academy has a range of players from ages 7 to 18. The Cardiff City Under-21 side is the highest age group of football other than the senior first team at the club, although the side is allowed to field up to three overage players and a goalkeeper. The age range was initially set at under-21 until 2016 when the limit was increased to players under 23 years of age. From the summer of 2022, the team once again became an Under-21 team. The side competes in the Professional Development League 2.
The 2008 FA Cup final was an association football match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 17 May 2008. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the 2007–08 Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by The Football Association. It was the 127th FA Cup Final and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium following its redevelopment. Portsmouth won the match by a single goal, scored by Nwankwo Kanu in the 37th minute.
The South Wales derby is a local derby between Welsh association football clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City. The fixture has been described by The Independent as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football. Although based in Wales, both clubs play in the English football league system and have won English honours: Cardiff the FA Cup in 1927 and Swansea the Football League Cup in 2013.
The 2003 Football League Second Division play-off Final was a football match played at the Millennium Stadium on 25 May 2003, at the end of the 2002–03 season. The match determined the third and final team to gain promotion from the English Second Division to the First Division, and was contested by fourth-placed Queens Park Rangers and sixth-placed Cardiff City. The teams reached the final by defeating Oldham Athletic and Bristol City respectively in the play-off semi-finals.
David John "Dai" Thomas is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales under-21 international. His professional career came to an end in 2000 when he was filmed mixing with football hooligans in Belgium during Euro 2000.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. They are one of a few Welsh sides to play in the English football league system, rather than the Welsh system. The other teams are Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham, and Merthyr Town.
The 2001–02 FA Cup third-round association football match between Cardiff City and Leeds United was played at Ninian Park, Cardiff, on 6 January 2002. The visitors Leeds went into the match as strong favourites given the gulf in divisions that separated the two teams; Leeds were leading the Premier League at the time while Cardiff were placed 10th in the Second Division, the third tier and two tiers below their opposition. Leeds entered the FA Cup in the third round, receiving byes in the opening rounds as they participated in the Premier League, while Cardiff had won their first two ties to reach this stage of the competition.