Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi was sent off during his side’s 3-1 Nations League defeat by Austria on Thursday after celebrating a goal by using a 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 as part of his celebration. The referee had booked him four minutes earlier and responded by showing him a second yellow card for the celebration, leaving Israel to play on with 10 men.
Austria regained the lead in the 90th minute through Phillipp Mwene, who scored from a Paul Wanner cross. Sasa Kalajdzic then added a third in stoppage time with a close-range finish.
Elsewhere, 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 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 Hallgrímsson’s side reached 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 Liechtenstein.