Israel Star Sent Off After Bizarre Celebration as Austria Punish 10-Man Opponents

The 20-year-old had just scored his first international goal to bring Israel level against Austria when his celebration resulted in a second yellow card.

Israel were eventually beaten 3-1, with Austria scoring twice in the closing stages after being handed a significant advantage by the dismissal.

It was a night of extraordinary swings for Abu Farchi, who had only made his Israel debut earlier this year.

Abu Farchi scores before seeing red

Austria took the lead before half-time when Romano Schmid converted from the penalty spot.

Israel responded shortly after the interval.

Abu Farchi rose to head in the equaliser in the 55th minute, giving his side renewed hope of taking something from the match.

The celebrations, however, quickly became the centre of attention.

The Colorado Rapids forward ran towards the corner flag, removed it and dropped to one knee before using the pole in a gesture that was initially widely interpreted as mimicking a firearm.

The referee had already booked Abu Farchi just minutes earlier.

He then produced another yellow card for the celebration, meaning Israel were reduced to 10 men.

What was Abu Farchi's celebration?

The precise meaning of the gesture has since been disputed.

Some reports described it as a gun-firing celebration, while later reporting suggested Abu Farchi may have been imitating a snooker cue instead.

Israel manager Ran Ben Shimon also offered an important piece of context, saying Abu Farchi celebrates his goals in this manner and accepting that the player needed to learn from the incident.

Whatever the intention, the referee's decision was decisive.

Israel had to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men, leaving Austria with a numerical advantage during the final stages.

Austria take advantage

Austria eventually made the extra man count.

Phillipp Mwene restored the hosts' lead in the 90th minute after being played in by Paul Wanner.

Sasa Kalajdzic then added a third goal deep into stoppage time to complete a 3-1 victory.

For Israel, the defeat was particularly frustrating because Abu Farchi's equaliser had appeared to put them in a position to fight for a result.

Instead, the dismissal changed the contest.

The incident also overshadowed what should have been a landmark moment for Abu Farchi: scoring his first goal for the senior national team.

The striker only recently moved to MLS side Colorado Rapids from Maccabi Tel Aviv and has quickly established himself as an international option.

A costly lesson for Israel

Ben Shimon admitted after the match that Abu Farchi needed to learn from what happened.

That will be the lasting football lesson from the evening.

Goal celebrations can carry consequences when players have already been booked, particularly when a gesture is open to interpretation by officials.

For Abu Farchi, the timing made the incident even more costly.

He had just given Israel a route back into the game. Four minutes later, he was walking off the pitch.

Austria then used their numerical advantage to claim all three points.

Israel will therefore look back on a match in which a memorable first international goal became overshadowed by a dismissal — and ultimately played a major part in their 3-1 defeat.