Israel Player Sent Off for Unusual Corner Flag Celebration Against Austria
Israel's match against Austria in the Nations League ended in a 3-1 defeat, with their cause not helped by a red card for scorer Sayed Abu Farchi. He was sent off for celebrating his goal with the corner flag.
Sayed Abu Farchi experienced a swift emotional shift. The Israeli forward went from immense joy to stark disappointment within seconds on Thursday evening during the first matchday of the Nations League against Austria (3-1).
In the 55th minute, with Israel trailing 1-0 in Linz after a penalty by Romano Schmid before halftime (43rd minute), they equalized. Receiving a deflected shot, Sayed Abu Farchi headed the ball in, bringing both teams level.
Two Yellow Cards in Five Minutes
After celebrating his goal with teammates, the player, who plays in MLS for the Colorado Rapids, approached the corner flag. He pulled the flag out of the ground and, crouching, appeared to mimic a pool player. The referee did not approve of this celebration and issued a yellow card. The problem was, Sayed Abu Farchi had already received a caution five minutes earlier. Consequently, he was shown a red card and left his teammates to concede two late goals from Phillipp Mwene (90th minute) and Sasa Kalajdzic (93rd minute).
Furious, he attempted to explain his actions to the referee, but to no avail. It remains unclear whether the official penalized him for appearing to mimic a weapon, for pulling out the corner flag, or simply for using the flag as a pool cue.
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