Irish snooker legend Ken Doherty has found himself unexpectedly caught up in the storm surrounding tonight’s game between Ireland and Israel.

The snooker star’s name was bizarrely invoked in defence of a controversial goal celebration, and he has responded in typically understated fashion.

The 1997 world champion was mentioned in the fallout from the sending-off of Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi during his side’s 3-1 Nations League defeat to Austria in Linz last week.

The celebration

Abu Farchi, 20, was shown a second yellow card after scoring Israel’s equaliser, when he pulled up the corner flag, dropped to one knee and held the pole out in front of him before simulating a shot being fired.

The gesture divided opinion sharply. Many observers, including several major outlets, interpreted it as miming the firing of a gun, an interpretation that drew particular attention given the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Abu Farchi and the Israeli camp, however, insisted it was something else entirely.

The forward has a long-running signature celebration that he says is meant to mimic a snooker shot, and which he performs regularly for his clubs.

‘It’s all a celebration of snooker,’ he has previously written on social media.

Enter Ken Doherty

It was in making that case that the Israeli side reached for one of Ireland’s most famous sportsmen, likening the celebration to the cueing action of ‘the legendary Ken Doherty’.

The Dubliner, one of the most recognisable figures in world snooker, appeared less than convinced by the comparison.

Reacting to the story on X, Doherty replied with a single laughing emoji, seemingly doubting the explanation and making light of finding himself dragged into one of the most contentious sporting rows in recent memory.

It caps a surreal chapter in the build-up to a fixture that has caused Irish football weeks of turmoil, with Ireland due to face Israel in Debrecen this evening.