Saied Abu Farchi saw red in bizarre fashion on Thursday night during the Nations League clash between Austria and Israel. The 20-year-old forward celebrated his equaliser by pretending to fire the corner flag like a gun, and the referee soon sent him off.
Abu Farchi made it 1-1 in the 55th minute when he headed in a cross. He then grabbed the corner flag during his celebration and mimed shooting with it, prompting referee Georgi Kabakov to step in.
Kabakov had already booked Abu Farchi three minutes earlier for a foul. He then showed the Israeli a second yellow for the celebration, which meant a red card followed.
Israel had to play the rest of the match with ten men. Austria only turned that numerical advantage into goals in the closing stages, winning 3-1 in Linz.
Then came the decisive goal for 2-1 in the 90th minute. PSV midfielder Paul Wanner supplied the assist for left-back Phillipp Mwene, who was previously under contract at PSV himself and now plays for FSV Mainz.
Deep into stoppage time, Austria made the win more emphatic. Striker Sasa Kalajdzic scored for 3-1 in the 95th minute, leaving Israel empty-handed after the red card.
For Abu Farchi, it was only his second appearance for the Israel national team. He made his international debut at the start of June with a brief substitute outing against Albania and scored for his country for the first time against Austria.
On 1 September, the 20-year-old striker completed a move to Colorado Rapids. The MLS club paid five million euros to Maccabi Tel Aviv, where Abu Farchi scored 15 goals in 52 matches.