Cody Gakpo made a show of faith after scoring for Liverpool during Sunday's Premier League title-winning match against Tottenham Hotspur
Cody Gakpo was at the heart of Liverpool's celebrations at Anfield on Sunday after becoming a Premier League winner. However, the forward may have also landed himself in hot water with the Football Association because of what he did after scoring in the match against Tottenham Hotspur.
The result that confirmed Liverpool's status as newly-crowned English champions - now the 20th time that has happened in history - was a landslide 5-1 victory over Spurs. Former Red Dominic Solanke struck first to somewhat hush the crowd though the hosts had battled back to score three before the break - the third of which came from Gakpo, tucking into the bottom left corner of Guglielmo Vicario's goal.
The Dutchman wheeled away in celebration towards the Reds supporters in the Anfield Road Stand, taking off his shirt to reveal a vest that contained the message: "I belong to Jesus."
Those with a good memory of the late noughties may actively choose to forget the 2007 Champions League final in Athens, but it was won by AC Milan against Liverpool in a revenge act for events in Istanbul two years prior. Celebrating that result for the Serie A side, Brazilian midfielder Kaka wore the same vest.
Fans will also know Gakpo is a devout pentecostal christian, often sharing messages of faith alongside his Liverpool posts on social media.
But sharing such a message on an item of clothing on the field of play as opposed to Instagram actually goes against what is written in the FA's rulebook.
As is set out in the FA's Law 4 covering 'the player's equipment' the rules state: "Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images. Players must not reveal undergarments that show political, religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer's logo.
"For any offence the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, national football association or by FIFA."
Therefore based on this the 25-year-old could end up being handed a Premier League, FA or FIFA punishment for his actions, as could Liverpool themselves.
Gakpo was shown a yellow card for removing his shirt during the match itself, although under the FA rules outlined above, he could still face further sanctions.
The FA's Law 12 covering fouls and misconduct states: "Players can celebrate when a goal is scored, but the celebration must not be excessive; choreographed celebrations are not encouraged and must not cause excessive time-wasting.
"Leaving the field of play to celebrate a goal is not a cautionable offence but players should return as soon as possible."
The rules add that a player must be cautioned, even if the goal is disallowed, for:
climbing onto a perimeter fence and/or approaching the spectators in a manner which causes safety and/or security issues
gesturing or acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way
covering the head or face with a mask or other similar item
removing the shirt or covering the head with the shirt.
The FA's latest ruling over a similar message of christianity in the Premier League could hint that action from the governing body may not formally be taken, however.
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, also a christian, last December wrote the words: "I love Jesus," onto a rainbow-coloured captain's armband he was given to wear to promote the Rainbow Laces campaign.
The FA only ended up contacting Palace to formally remind them and Guehi of the game’s kit and advertising regulations, stopping short of any formal charge.