The Ayatollah (football celebration)

[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.

[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.

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.

The Big Brother housemate and Cardiff supporter David Vaughan frequently did the Ayatollah after winning tasks in the house in 2010.

[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.