Michael Olise’s signature celebration has started travelling far beyond football.
The Bayern Munich winger’s trademark combination of a finger to his lips and another pointed towards his temple has recently been copied by athletes from football, tennis and the NFL.
Olise’s celebration is built around two simple gestures: a “shush” with one finger and a point towards his head with the other. There is no clear evidence that Olise invented either gesture individually.
What has become uniquely associated with him is the way he combines them and repeatedly uses them after scoring. His celebrations also fit his naturally understated personality.
Full List of Athletes Who Copied Michael Olise’s Goal Celebration in 2026
Rebecca Adegbenmile
Rebecca Adegbenmile, wearing Nigeria’s No. 13 shirt while performing the Olise-inspired gesture. The moment comes from Nigeria’s 10-1 win over New Caledonia at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
The result was a record-breaking victory for the Falconets, who produced one of the tournament’s biggest scorelines. The image puts the gesture into a completely different footballing context, but the reference to Olise is immediately recognisable.
Justus Hollatz
The second athlete takes the celebration into basketball. Justus Hollatz, the German point guard for FC Bayern Basketball, appears performing the same shush-and-point gesture.
Hollatz joined Bayern in January 2025 and has a contract with the club until 2028. He has also won the FIBA Basketball World Cup with Germany and the German championship with Bayern.
There is an obvious Bayern connection here. Hollatz represents the basketball side of the same club where Olise has established himself as one of Bayern Munich’s attacking stars.
Flavien Coton
The fourth image features French table-tennis player Flavien Coton.
Coton is one of the young names emerging from France’s increasingly strong table-tennis programme.
He made headlines in 2026 after winning the WTT Contender in Tunis and later beating Japan’s Shunsuke Togami in his first match for the French senior team at the World Team Table Tennis Championships.
The gesture appears again after a big sporting moment, showing just how easily Olise’s celebration can travel across sports.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
The most striking non-football example comes from the NFL. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba performed the celebration after scoring a 45-yard touchdown against the New England Patriots in Seattle’s 13-10 comeback win in the 2026 season opener.
The play came on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. Drew Lock found Smith-Njigba underneath, and the receiver turned the short completion into a 45-yard touchdown to level the game at 10-10. He finished with eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.
After reaching the end zone, Smith-Njigba hit Olise’s celebration, bringing the Bayern winger’s trademark gesture into an NFL setting. The celebration was subsequently picked up across football and American football social media.
From Bayern to the rest of sport
Olise’s celebration has gradually become more than just his personal goal reaction. Shelton showed that tennis players could adopt it. Neuer brought it into Bayern’s own celebrations, while Smith-Njigba took it all the way to the NFL.
And the trend may not stop there. A celebration that began as an expression of Olise’s own personality is now becoming a small piece of sporting culture that other athletes are happy to borrow.
