Israel’s Abu Farchi sent off after corner-flag celebration

Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi was sent off after celebrating an equaliser with a corner flag against Austria on 24 September. His second yellow card left Israel with ten players in a Nations League Group B3 match they went on to lose 3–1. [1] [2]

Abu Farchi headed Israel level in the 55th minute at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz, cancelling out Romano Schmid’s first-half penalty. The 20-year-old then grabbed the corner flag and went down on one knee. The referee booked him for the celebration, just four minutes after his first caution. [1]

The Guardian described the gesture as appearing to mimic a snooker cue, while noting that some reports had interpreted it as simulating a gun. The newspaper also reported that Abu Farchi had previously described the celebration on social media as a snooker celebration. [1]

The Guardian, citing Austrian media, reported that Israel head coach Ran Ben Shimon said Abu Farchi regularly celebrated his goals that way. Ben Shimon suggested he might have been at fault for not telling the forward to stop and said the incident was a lesson for both the player and the team. [1]