Before 2004, players taking their shirts off to celebrate a goal was often a trademark. However, since then, it has become a yellow card offense. Players still do it often, getting carried away in the last minute of games or following particularly important goals, but with the acceptance that it will carry a caution. And when it does happen, fans generally hate it, believing it to be a petty rule and killjoy legislation which is counter to the game's spirit. So, why aren't players allowed to take off their shirts when they score a goal? 
The subsections of International Football Association Board's law 12 deal with what a player can and cannot do after scoring a goal. Among the actions prohibited are
- Climbing onto a perimeter fence and/or approaching the spectators in a manner which causes safety and/or security issues
- Acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way
- Covering the head or face with a mask or other similar item
- and finally, removing the shirt or covering the head with the shirt
But with what justification? Well, there is no one reason. Instead, the rules exist for five separate reasons. Most famously, it's a way of protecting sponsors' investments and preventing logos from being hidden at highly photographed moments within games. People already know that though and understand the justification behind it. Additionally, however, a blanket ban on shirt removal is a measure against over-celebration.
Taking a shirt off is deemed a provocative act and a means of inciting aggression from other players or even supporters in the stadium. It also prevents players from showing messages under their shirts which can obviously also be provocative in nature or political or religious. Former Liverpool forward Robbie Fowler provided a good example of this back in 1995. After scoring, Fowler lifted up his shirt to display a T-shirt reading "Support the 500 sacked dockers" who'd been sacked as part of a labour dispute. He was fined in the aftermath by UEFA who prohibited the display of political messages. Even then, nearly a decade later, the promise of a yellow card added a further deterrent, even to players sending birthday wishes to their children or best wishes to an injured teammate.
After scoring the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands, Andres Iniesta removed his shirt to reveal a T-shirt in memory of Danny Harke, who'd been his teammate at International Youth Level and who tragically had died the year before. Iniesta was booked for his celebration, which contextually and given the benevolence of his gesture, seemed mean-spirited to say the least. But the rules don't allow for that kind of interpretation, and they do also serve a more functional purpose. Preventing players from taking off their shirts is potentially also a measure against time wasting.
As kit design became more intricate, some players would struggle to replace shirts after taking them off. Famously, after scoring a late winner for Manchester United against Southampton, Diego Forlan took off his shirt in celebration, but was then unable to put it back on correctly before the game restarted. As a consequence, he was left chasing around the pitch without a shirt during stoppage time, which as well as being an absurd spectacle, could potentially have created an identification problem with the officials. Given that Forlan was half naked and had long distinguished blonde hair it seems unlikely that any referee would have confused him for another player but still it's just another explanation for a law that's justification has always remained intentionally vague.
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