Israeli player sent off for ‘gun celebration’

Israel’s Saied Abu Farchi was sent off for appearing to use the corner flag as a gun while celebrating a goal in his side’s defeat to Austria.

The forward uprooted the flag following his second-half equaliser and received a second yellow card for the gesture.

Football’s laws state a player can be booked for provocative goal celebrations, although Farchi, who plays for Colorado Rapids in the US, looked confused when he realised he had been sent off. Removing the corner flag is also a bookable offence.

Farchi has used the celebration before, notably when he played for Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. His team-mates that day also appeared to make gun symbols with their hands in response.

The 20-year-old is likely to face backlash for its potential interpretation during heightened tension in Israel following the conflict in Gaza.

It comes after a campaign calling for the Republic of Ireland to boycott their two upcoming matches against Israel. In the build-up to Sunday’s game between the two countries the Israel Football Association (IFA) has accused Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy” after he said: “We’re playing against genocide.”

On Monday, the IFA posted on X: “We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by the @IrelandFootball team coach. We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”

The statement followed reports in Israel that the IFA was considering lodging a complaint with Uefa about Hallgrímsson, who also stood by comments he made last year about being unable to understand why Russia had been banned from world football over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but Israel had not over its actions in Gaza.

After Farchi’s equaliser and dismissal in the 55th minute, Israel went on to suffer a 3-1 defeat to Austria after late goals from Phillipp Mwene and Saša Kalajdžić.

Israel are currently not allowed to play their home matches on home soil for security reasons and Sunday’s game against Ireland will take place in Debrecen, Hungary.

Next month’s return fixture will also be played at a neutral venue in Serbia amid protests in Ireland over the national team’s refusal to boycott it.

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