Israel midfielder Sayed Abu Farhi received a red card after making a gun gesture during his goal celebration in Israel’s 3-1 loss to Austria in the Nations League.
The 20-year-old player from Colorado Rapids scored the equalising goal for Israel in Linz. He then used the corner flag to mimic shooting a gun.
According to BBC, the referee gave Abu Farhi a second yellow card, which left Israel playing with just 10 men.
Football rules allow referees to caution players for goal celebrations that seem provocative or disrespectful.
Austria took the lead with a goal from Romano Schmid before Abu Farhi scored. Phillipp Mwene put Austria ahead again late in the game, and Sasa Kalajdzic added a third goal to secure the win.
This incident happened during a time of debate about Israel’s involvement in international football due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
In the Republic of Ireland, some groups are calling for a boycott of Ireland’s upcoming matches against Israel. The two matches are set to take place at neutral locations.
The conflict began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, based on Israeli numbers reported by international organisations.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 73,000 people have died from Israeli attacks, and the United Nations has said these figures are mostly accurate.
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