Israel striker sent off for gun celebration in Nations League defeat to Austria

Israel forward ​Saied Abu Farchi was sent off for celebrating his goal against Austria in their 3-1 ⁠ Nations League defeat by using the corner flag to simulate a gun. Abu Farchi headed home in the 55th minute to bring Israel level after Austria had taken the lead through a Romano Schmid penalty before half-time at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz. The 20-year-old ran to the ‌corner flag, grabbed it ‌and made a gun-firing gesture during his celebration. Saied Abu Farchi scored for Israel but was sent off for a gun celebration (AP) Austria scored two late goals to win the match 3-1 (Getty) The referee had booked Abu Farchi four minutes earlier and showed him a second yellow card for the celebration, followed by a red, leaving Israel with 10 players for the remainder of the match. Austria regained the lead in ‌the 90th minute through Phillipp ​Mwene, who netted following ‌a cross from ⁠Paul Wanner and Sasa Kalajdzic added ⁠a third in stoppage time with ‌a close-range ​finish to seal victory. Israel next face Republic of Ireland on Sunday evening in a match where the build-up has been steeped in controversy . The Israeli FA accused Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson of “hypocrisy and stupidity” after he said his team would be “playing against genocide” in the upcoming double header between the two teams, which will be taking place in neutral venues in Hungary and Serbia due to safety concerns. Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has caused controversy with his comments before their match with Israel (Reuters) The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have confirmed that they will fulfill both fixtures despite mounting calls from campaigners to boycott the games but after announcing his squad, Hallgrimsson admitted that “none of us feel comfortable playing in these games”. When asked how his players can focus on the fixtures given the calls to boycott the games back home, Hallgrimsson added: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.” In a furious response on social media, the Israeli FA wrote: “We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way. Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by @IrelandFootball team coach. We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we’re playing against the coach who embodies them.” Irish taoiseach Michael Martin defended Hallgrimsson (AFP/Getty) The Irish taoiseach Michael Martin called the comments from the Israeli FA “unacceptable” and said they “should be withdrawn” while speaking with reporters when attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The Israeli government has vehemently denied the charges of genocide since their retaliation to the October 7 attacks almost three years ago, when about 1,200 people were killed by Hamas and 250 people were taken hostage. Over 70,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the war in Gaza, according to figures used by the United Nations. In the pre-match press conference for their Nations League clash with Kosovo on Thursday – which Ireland ultimately lost 1-0 – Hallgrimsson then acknowledged that his comments had not necessarily been the smartest move. “Creating the headlines from what I said last time has taken the attention away from what is maybe most important, we are playing an important game against Kosovo,” said the Icelandic coach. “That was not the purpose and maybe from a leadership point of view it was not clever from me, to take the attention like this. I need to be focused on the game need and the players need to be focused on the game. To answer the question, we’re thankful for the support we get. It's a tricky time for us.” Ireland lost 1-0 to Kosovo on Thursday evening (AP) Meanwhile, captain Dara O’Shea said the Irish players will come together and discuss whether to stage a protest before playing Israel, with a decision to be taken by the squad “as one”. O’Shea said the Irish team have been put in a “difficult” and “unusual” situation ahead of the games against Israel and will make a decision on what to do ahead of the weekend. Additional reporting from Reuters