Forward uses corner flag to simulate gun after equaliser
Nations League match ends in 3-1 loss for Israel
Israel’s forward Saied Abu Farchi was sent off for celebrating his goal against Austria in his side’s 3-1 Nations League defeat on Thursday 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.
The referee had booked Abu Farchi four minutes earlier and showed him a second yellow card for the celebration, leaving Israel with 10 players.
Austria regained the lead in the 90th minute through Phillipp Mwene, who scored via Paul Wanner’s cross. Sasa Kalajdzic added a third in stoppage time with a close-range finish.
The Republic of Ireland slipped to a 1-0 defeat away at Kosovo in their Nations League opener in Pristina. The buildup had been overshadowed by the controversy around upcoming fixtures against Israel, which the Ireland manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, had admitted many of his squad members were uncomfortable about playing.
Chiedozie Ogbene had fired an early chance over before Kosovo responded to finish the first half strongly. The home side saw two shots cleared off the line before the Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher clawed away a header from Vedat Muriqi as Hallgrimsson’s side got to the break on level terms.
Ireland, who are scheduled to play Israel in Hungary on Sunday, showed plenty of spirit as they dug in for the second half, but were eventually undone with seven minutes left when the Kosovo captain, Vedat Muriqi, bundled the ball in from close range.
In a Group A4 match, Norway’s Erling Haaland struck twice, including a 74th-minute winner, to edge his team past Denmark 3-2 in Oslo and earn their first competitive win over their opponents.
“It tasted sweet. It feels great to beat our neighbours,” the captain, Martin Ødegaard, said. “There is a lot we could have done better, but even when we were put under pressure, we found a way back and responded.”
The Danes had powered back from a two-goal deficit and levelled the game on the hour after first-half goals from Oscar Bobb and Haaland had put the hosts 2-0 up. Norway were also left with 10 men in stoppage time after David Møller Wolfe was sent off following a second booking.
There was drama in Belgrade where visitors Greece came from a goal down to snatch a 2-1 victory over Serbia thanks to Tasos Douvikas’s winner deep in stoppage time. Malta came from behind to beat Andorra 2-1 in their League D clash, while Lithuania won 2-0 in Lichtenstein.
