An Israeli footballer dismissed during his country’s defeat by Austria after making a gesture interpreted as a gunshot has denied wrongdoing, while his manager defended the midfielder.
Sayed Abu Farchi was shown a second yellow card in the second half after removing the corner flag and appearing to imitate firing a gun. Some observers, however, believed the Colorado Rapids player may have been recreating a snooker shot.
The celebration drew an immediate backlash from supporters, who considered it deeply insensitive amid Israel’s war with Palestine, in which more than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed by Israeli attacks.
Abu Farchi protested to Bulgarian referee Georgi Kabakov, arguing that the incident did not warrant his removal from the match.
The midfielder had already been booked, though, and Kabakov produced a second yellow card before sending him off.
Israel manager Ran Ben-Shimon subsequently defended the Colorado Rapids player, saying Abu Farchi has repeatedly used the same celebration without being punished.
Israel’s Sayed Abu Farchi was sent off on Thursday after appearing to imitate a gunshot following a goal
His manager defended the Colorado Rapids midfielder as scrutiny grew over the gesture
‘I’ve seen it before and everyone can check,’ Ben-Shimon said. ‘Whenever this young player scores, whether for the Israeli national team, in MLS or anywhere else, he celebrates in exactly the same way and has never received a yellow card for it.’
‘He didn’t know about it; this is how he celebrates every goal. He’s a young player, and I’m sure this lesson will stay with him for a long time. He made a mistake.’
UEFA’s disciplinary guidelines indicate that Kabakov was within his rights to issue the second booking.
The regulations state that players must be cautioned for ‘gesturing or acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way’. Removing the corner flag is also listed as an offence punishable by a yellow card.
Israel had already been at the centre of controversy this week, with the national team scheduled to play the Republic of Ireland twice during the current international break.
The Israeli FA launched an angry social-media response on Monday after Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson referred to ‘genocide’ while discussing the upcoming fixtures.
The Icelandic coach used unusually forceful language while explaining his team’s position ahead of the matches against Israel, whose participation the Football Association of Ireland had previously sought to have suspended.
‘And I’ve said before, we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide,’ Hallgrimsson said at the weekend. ‘So, we’re playing against Israel. We’re not playing with Israel.’
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson faced criticism from the Israel FA after saying his team would be ‘playing against genocide’
As reports emerged that Israel was considering a complaint to UEFA, the Israeli FA responded on X on Monday night: ‘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 the stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by the Republic of Ireland team coach.’
‘We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity; we’re playing against the coach who embodies them.’
The matches will take place at neutral venues on Sunday and then again on October 4.
Austria, meanwhile, beat Israel 3-1 on Thursday, with Romano Schmid, Philipp Mwene and Sasa Kalajdzic all scoring.
