Israel’s Abu Farchi sent off for gun celebration in Nations League match

Israel footballer Sayed Abu Farchi was sent off for goal celebration mimicking shooting a gun in match against Austria.Israel footballer Sayed Abu Farchi was sent off for his goal-scoring celebration when he used the corner flag ⁠to simulate a gun after equalizing against Austria in their UEFA Nations League late on Thursday.The forward’s goal levelled the match 1-1 early in the second half at Raiffeisen Arena in Linz, Austria, his 55th minute header cancelling out Romano Schmid’s first-half penalty.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Zidane returns as France head to Turkiye in Nations League – all to knowlist 2 of 4Nigeria’s coach demands winning start in AFCON qualifier with Madagascarlist 3 of 4Harry Kane eyes career as NFL kicker after football retirementlist 4 of 4Manchester United losses jump nearly a third to $57m despite record revenueend of listThe 20-year-old then jogged to the corner, pulled out the corner flag, dropped his right knee to the grass and rested the pole on the back of his left hand before making a firing gesture.It wasn’t immediately clear if Farchi, who plays his club football in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, was about to simulate a pool cue shot or a weapon, but the action that followed left no one in doubt.The referee promptly showed the Colorado Rapids forward a second yellow card, just four minutes after his first, leading to a red card.Under the International Football Association Board Law 12, players can celebrate a goal as they wish, but their celebration “must not be excessive” and a player “must be cautioned for acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way”.Austria regained ⁠the lead in the 90th minute through Phillipp Mwene, who netted following a cross from ‌Paul Wanner. Sasa Kalajdzic added a third goal in stoppage time with a ‌close-range ‌finish to seal a 3-1 win.Israel’s participation in the Nations League has prompted fierce backlash from several other competing countries, including the Republic of Ireland, whose football association said its request to avoid future pairings with Israel had been ⁠⁠rejected by UEFA.