Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi was sent off after celebrating his equaliser with a controversial gesture during his side’s 3-1 defeat to Austria in the Nations League.
Abu Farchi headed Israel level in the 55th minute at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz after Romano Schmid had put Austria ahead from the penalty spot before half-time. The 20-year-old then ran to the corner, removed the flag and made what seemed to the referee to be a firing gesture with the pole.
Abu Farchi had already been booked four minutes earlier, and the referee showed him a second yellow card for the celebration. Israel were then reduced to 10 players shortly after drawing level.
However, on a closer look, it appears the player had actually been simulating a pool shot. The fingers on his extended left arm were stretched out and his thumb was held out to form a channel, the standard setup for a pool shot.
🇮🇱🟥 Israel’s Abu Farhi was SENT OFF after scoring against Austria — for celebrating his goal by mimicking firing a gun. 😳🔫
Israel went on to lose the Nations League clash 3-1. 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/SXMB2oQFLV
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) September 25, 2026
In that case, he would feel very hard done by, although some may argue that, having been on a yellow card, he should have been careful about a celebration that involved ripping a corner flag out of its post.
Austria took advantage of Abu Farchi’s sending off late in the game. Phillipp Mwene restored their lead in the 90th minute after being picked out by Paul Wanner, before Sasa Kalajdzic added a third in stoppage time with a close-range finish.
