France had been preparing for the match with heavy security after violence broke out in Amsterdam last week during a match between Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv.
France and Israel played out a 0-0 draw in the men’s Nations League in front of a small crowd, but there was still trouble in the stands. According to the journalist of the news agency AFP, the security guards prevented a clash between supporters in the stands by placing themselves between two groups of supporters at the Stade de France stadium.
Based on videos uploaded to social media, some supporters were carrying Israeli flags.
France had been preparing for the match with heavy security after violence broke out in Amsterdam last week during a match between Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. Around 4,000 police officers secured the Nations League match in Paris.
The French president watched the match on the spot Emmanuel Macron emphasized during the match that anti-Semitism has no place in the world. Macron had also assured the Israeli prime minister Benjamin to Netanyahuthat the match can be played without problems. Israel had urged its citizens to avoid attending the match.
– We don’t give anti-Semitism a place anywhere. Violence and intimidation never win, and this is also the case in France, Macron said on the French BFM-TV channel during the match.
The security measures clearly affected ticket sales for the match. Stade de France can hold around 80,000 spectators, but according to L’Equipe, only 16,611 pairs of eyes watched the match.
Like Macron, also the French Prime Minister Michel Barnier and former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy witnessed a goalless draw on the spot.
“Both sides are provoking”
Last week, nearly 30 people were injured and five hospitalized when Israeli soccer fans were attacked in Amsterdam after a match between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch side Ajax.
France, as well as Israel, the United States and the leaders of several European countries have condemned the violence in Amsterdam as anti-Semitic.
However, according to the Amsterdam police, both sides had provoked the resulting violence.
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