Israeli player sent off for controversial celebration with corner flag as late goals secure Austrian win

LAST UPDATE | 24 Sep

An editorial note re: The 42’s reporting on the Uefa Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel is available to read here.

Updated 12.40pm, 25 September

Austria 3

Israel 1

AN ISRAELI PLAYER was sent off for his goal celebration as Austria claimed a 3-1 victory in Ireland’s Nations League group this evening.

Sayed Abu Farchi had just equalised for Israel in Linz when he ran to the corner of the pitch, pulled out the corner flag and gestured to the crowd with it. 

Reuters reported that the 20-year-old appeared to mimic firing a gun, while BBC Sport also said the gesture looked to “mimic shooting a gun”.

However, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that Abu Farchi appeared to be attempting to mimic a “billiard shot” with the flag, while acknowledging the gesture could also be interpreted as a gun being fired.

Austrian outlet Heute similarly reported that the celebration was probably intended to resemble using a billiards cue.

On an Instagram post after the match, Abu Farchi reshared a reel of his goal celebration and added the eight-ball emoji, which literally represents the black eight-ball used in pool or billiards.

The post, which was published before Abu Farchi made his Instagram account private, also included the 2023 song Y Que Fue? by Caribbean rapper Don Miguelo.

Lyrics from the song played on the post, including, ‘Y Que Fue, no hiciste na’, which roughly translates from Spanish to “And what happened? You didn’t do anything!”.

🚨| Israeli player Abu Farkhi celebrated his goal by grabbing the corner post.

The celebration earned him a second yellow card. 🟥 https://t.co/9lD2Fx6xCj

— Kalshi FC (@KalshiFC) September 24, 2026

Whatever the intention, the celebration proved costly. Abu Farchi had been booked just minutes earlier and was shown a second yellow card, reducing Israel to 10 men with the scores level at 1-1.

Under international football rules, players must be cautioned for celebrations considered provocative, derisory or inflammatory, while the laws also state that a corner flag post must not be moved.

Romano Schmid had given Austria the lead from the penalty spot shortly before half-time before Abu Farchi levelled after the break.

Israel held on with 10 men until the closing stages, when Austria finally made their numerical advantage count.

Late Austrian pressure told with goals in the 90th minute from Phillipp Mwene and in the 93rd minute from Sasa Kalajdzic.

Ireland face both sides in the coming days, playing Israel on Sunday night in Debrecen, before next Thursday’s game against Austria at the Aviva Stadium.

Austria play Kosovo this Sunday evening in Vienna with a 5pm kick-off time.

Update: This piece was updated on 25 September to reflect the details from Sayed Abu Farchi’s Instagram posts. The headline was changed from the original (‘Israeli player sent off for ‘gun’ celebration with corner flag as late goals secure Austrian win’) to ‘Israeli player sent off for controversial celebration with corner flag as late goals secure Austrian win’.

Additional reporting by The42 and AFP

Originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.