An Israeli footballer who was sent off while playing for his country after performing a gun gesture pleaded his innocence – with his manager fighting his corner too.

Sayed Abu Farchi was given his marching orders in the second-half of his side's defeat by Austria, having taken the corner flag out the ground and mimicked a gunshot, though others have suggested he could have been imitating a snooker shot.

Fans were left stunned and judged the move to be in bad taste, given Israel are at war with Palestine, with more than 70,000 people killed by Israeli attacks to date.

Abu Farchi protested with Bulgarian official Georgi Kabakov at the time, insisting he should have stayed on the field.

But he was already on a yellow card, and Kabakov opted to show him a second booking, resulting in his dismissal.

Israel manager Ran Ben-Shimon leapt to the defence of the Colorado Rapids midfielder after the game, insisting the celebration is regularly carried out by Abu Farchi without punishment.

'I've seen it before and everyone can check,' said Ben-Shimon. 'When this young player scores, in the Israeli national team or the MLS or anywhere he plays, he celebrates in the same situation again and again and he never gets a yellow card about it.

'He didn't know about it, this is his way to celebrate every goal he scores. He's a young player, I'm sure this lesson will stay with him a long time, he made a mistake.'

UEFA rules, meanwhile, suggest the referee was right to show a second yellow card.

They say a player must be booked for 'gesturing or acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way'. Removing the corner flag is also yellow card worthy.

Israel have already been a focus of attention this week with the country to face the Republic of Ireland in two matches over the current international break.

The Israeli FA angrily took to social media on Monday to hit back at Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson's comments when he used the word 'genocide' in previewing the upcoming fixtures.

The Icelandic boss used forceful language in defending his team as they prepare to take the field against a side that the Football Association of Ireland wanted to have suspended from competitions.

'And I've said before, we're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide,' he said at the weekend. 'So, we're playing against Israel. We're not playing with Israel.'

As reports circulated that the Israelis were considering a complaint to UEFA, the Israeli FA posted on X on Monday night: 'We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way,' the post on X stated.

'Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by the Republic of Ireland team coach.

'We're not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we're playing against the coach who embodies them.'

The matches will take place at neutral venues on Sunday and then again on October 4.

Austria, meanwhile, beat Israel 3-1 on Thursday, with Romano Schmid, Philipp Mwene and Sasa Kalajdzic all scoring.