UDINE, Italy (AP) — Snipers were on the roof of the Israel team hotel in Udine and on top of the stadium where a World Cup qualifier against Italy was taking place on Tuesday.
The Italian city has been on high alert ahead of the match and skirmishes broke out between protesters and police at a demonstration shortly before kickoff.
The match has been placed in the highest risk category despite a breakthrough ceasefire deal that has paused two years of war in Gaza.
The Israel team bus was escorted to the stadium by 13 police vehicles, including some from the special forces, and several motorbikes.
The sound of helicopters surveilling the city has filled the air since the morning, hours before Italy’s match against Israel was set to kick off at Stadio Friuli. Drones could also be spotted in the sky and there was a hefty police and military presence.
In the city center, around 10,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian march, which stayed incident free for nearly three hours before arriving at its final stop. Then about 50 people — with their faces covered — started clashing with police, who used water cannons and tear gas to try and disperse them.
The group was apparently trying to get past the police cordons to head toward the stadium, which is on the outskirts of the city.
Many shops and restaurants decided not to open on Tuesday and there are strict rules for those that did — including the removal of any outdoor furniture or other objects that could potentially be used as weapons.
Italy also played Israel a year ago in Udine, which was chosen because of the relative difficulty of reaching the city in north-east Italy, near the Slovenian border, and the ease of isolating the stadium, where road blocks have been set up all around.
The area has been declared a “red zone,” and only fans with tickets can pass through the tall metal barriers. Supporters were strongly advised to arrive early because of rigorous checks, with everyone having to pass through metal detectors, too.
Just over 9,000 tickets were sold for the qualifier at the 25,000-seat Stadio Friuli and there appeared to be fewer people inside the stadium than at the demonstration.
There were boos from some fans when the Israeli anthem was played but the rest of the stadium tried to drown that out with loud applause.
There was also a pro-Palestine demonstration last year before the match, but that drew only around 1,000 protesters.
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