Why Israeli footballer was sent off for ‘gun’ celebration: The rule explained

Israel forward Sayed Abu Farchi scored against Austria, celebrated with the corner flag and was walking off the pitch moments later.

But why exactly was he sent off? Was it because he removed the corner flag? Was it because the referee thought he was pretending to fire a gun?

Abu Farchi headed home in the 55th minute to make it 1-1 in Israel's Nations League game against Austria.

The 20-year-old then ran towards the corner, removed the flag, went down on one knee and held the pole horizontally before making what looked like a firing or striking motion.

Referee Georgi Kabakov immediately showed him a yellow card.

The problem was that Abu Farchi had already been booked just four minutes earlier. It was therefore his second yellow, and he was sent off, leaving Israel with 10 men.

Austria eventually won 3-1 after scoring twice late in the game.

What does the rule actually say?

This is where it gets interesting.

Neither removing the corner flag nor pretending to fire a rifle is specifically listed as an automatic yellow card offence during a goal celebration.

Instead, IFAB's Law 12 says players are allowed to celebrate, but a player must be cautioned if they act in a “provocative, derisory or inflammatory way”.

So context and the referee's interpretation matter.

In this case, the referee considered Abu Farchi's celebration worthy of a yellow card. Since he was already on a booking, that was enough to send him off.

There have been different interpretations from referees in the past too. Edinson Cavani was cautioned for his trademark rifle celebration while playing for PSG against Lens in 2014. Neymar, meanwhile, was not booked when he used a corner flag like a rifle while playing for Brazil against Paraguay in 2017.

Ultimately, the referee has the power to caution a player if they consider a celebration provocative or inflammatory.

And when you are already on a yellow card, avoiding any celebration that could be interpreted that way is probably the sensible thing to do.

Was it actually a gun celebration?

That is open to interpretation.

Many people watching it thought Abu Farchi was using the corner flag like a rifle and pretending to fire a shot. Several reports described it as a gun-firing gesture.

But others saw something different.

Another interpretation is that Abu Farchi was pretending to take a shot in pool or Billiards.

He rested the pole on the back of his hand in a manner that could resemble someone lining up a shot with a pool cue. The Associated Press noted that it was not immediately clear whether Abu Farchi was simulating a pool cue shot or a weapon.

So calling it definitively a gun celebration would mean making an assumption about what the player intended.

Only Abu Farchi knows exactly what he meant.

Why has it become such a major talking point?

We are talking about a gunshot-like celebration from an Israeli player. Of course, it was going to become a major talking point.

But the timing has added another layer to the controversy.

Israel face the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on Sunday, and there has already been a heated build up to the game.

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson said he and his players were uncomfortable about facing Israel. Discussing the fixtures and the war in Gaza, he said: “We’re not playing with genocide; we’re playing against genocide.”

The Israel Football Association hit back strongly, accusing Hallgrimsson of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.

There have also been calls for Ireland to boycott the matches. More than 160 Irish sportspeople have signed an open letter urging the national team not to play Israel, although the FAI has committed to fulfilling the fixtures.

So against that backdrop, a celebration that could be interpreted as an Israeli player firing a weapon was always going to attract attention.

But context matters, and so does interpretation.