The Ayatollah

The Ayatollah is a football celebration used by fans of the Welsh football club, Cardiff City. Performing the action is sometimes preceded by a chant of "do the Ayatollah". Action 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. Origins 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. 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. 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.