ISRAEL'S ABU FARCHI SENT OFF FOR CORNER FLAG CELEBRATION

Israel's Saied Abu Farchi was sent off during a UEFA Nations League match against Austria at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz on Thursday, receiving a second yellow card for his goal celebration. Austria won the match 3-1. Abu Farchi, who plays for Colorado Rapids, headed Israel level in the 55th minute, cancelling out a first-half penalty from Romano Schmid. He had already been booked four minutes earlier, and was shown a second yellow card for running to the corner flag during his celebration, leaving Israel with ten players.

Accounts of the celebration differ. One report said Abu Farchi lifted the corner flag and pointed it like a gun. Another said he grabbed the flag and knelt down, appearing to mimic a snooker cue rather than a firearm. Austria regained the lead in the 90th minute through Philipp Mwene, assisted by Paul Wanner, before Sasa Kalajdzic scored a third in stoppage time to seal the 3-1 win.

Austria's Patrick Wimmer called the celebration "stupid", telling Austrian broadcaster ORF: "I think that sort of thing has no place in football in general, and especially not in the situation they're in." His teammate Philipp Mwene used the same word. Israel's head coach, Ran Ben Shimon, said Abu Farchi celebrates all his goals that way, and admitted: "Perhaps it was my fault that I didn't tell him he needs to stop. He must learn from this. It is also a big lesson for us." Abu Farchi later addressed the reaction on social media, saying the gesture was "all a celebration of snooker."