Saïd Ennjimi says referee applied laws strictly after Abu Farkhi celebration | OneFootball

Saïd Abu Farkhi insisted his corner-flag celebration mimicked a pool shot, not a rifle, yet it earned him a second booking and dismissal.

According to L'Équipe, Austria beat Israel 3-1 in their Nations League B group 3 opener, and the 20-year-old was sent off on 56 minutes.

He had been booked five minutes earlier for a tussle with Kevin Danso. After equalising with a looping header on his first start, his first senior international goal, he grabbed the corner flag, knelt and made an ambiguous motion. Bulgarian referee Georgi Kabakov showed the second yellow.

The Colorado Rapids forward later posted the footage on Instagram alongside lyrics from Don Miguelo’s Y que fue?, and maintained this is his customary pool-shot celebration. A February photo from his Maccabi Tel-Aviv spell and photographer Roy Kfir both point to the same routine.

Former international referee Saïd Ennjimi said simply uprooting the corner flag to celebrate is cautionable as unsporting behaviour, and that the referee applied the law strictly. He added consistency can be an issue and the official might instead have issued only a warning.

Israel coach Ran Ben Shimon did not blame the referee, accepted responsibility and said Abu Farkhi should have been more careful after his first booking. He said the incident would serve as a lesson for the youngster.

Israel are due to face Ireland behind closed doors at neutral venues, on Sunday in Hungary and on 4 October in Serbia, amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the countries.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”