Italy’s 2026 World Cup qualifier with Israel will be prefaced by a major pro-Palestinian demonstration on Tuesday as thousands of people prepare to march through Udine in anger at the hosting of a match they feel should not be played.
The Gaza ceasefire deal signed on Monday and a hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas has done nothing to dampen the resolve of around 10,000 protestors who will descend on the small city in Italy’s far north-east amid a massive security operation.
Over 1,000 police officers and army personnel have been deployed while helicopters and drones will fly overhead to keep a watch on a march which was to begin at 5:30pm (1530 GMT) and be kept several kilometres away from the Bluenergy Stadium hosting the Group I fixture later.
The security operation has been designed to stop disorder and ensure no-one gets near the stadium or the Israel team.
Udine was quiet in the hours before the demonstration due to a series of restrictions on bars and restaurants.
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Checkpoints have been put up in a ring around the ground, with spectators having to pass concrete barriers and metal detectors in order to watch a match which is key to Italy’s bid to ensure they qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 2014.
“We’re obviously happy that the bombing has stopped,” said Carolina from Udine Committee For Palestine, who said she would not give AFP her surname.
The association is one of five — including Palestinian communities in the regions of Veneto and Fruili-Venezia Giulia — that have organised Tuesday’s march and they will welcome more than 340 activist groups from all over Italy.
“Our message isn’t only about what was going on in Gaza but also that we oppose the politics of occupation and apartheid that affects all Palestinians,” she added.
The association asks that football’s world governing body FIFA exclude Israel from international competition, “as already done with Russia”, in response to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Match overshadowed
Tuesday’s demonstration comes after a smaller one in Oslo on Saturday, when a few hundred people gathered in the Norwegian capital.
Police used tear gas to disperse activists outside the Ullevaal Stadium which was the scene of a 5-0 win for Norway against Israel.
The head of the Football Association of Norway (NFF), Lise Klaveness, recently said Israel should be sanctioned. Italy’s federation, in contrast, has not made such a call.
“The Norwegian FA has begun taking a position against the presence of Israeli teams, there’s a totally different type of behaviour across the board compared to what you see here (in Italy),” said the activist Carolina.
Tuesday’s protest has overshadowed a match which will go a long way to deciding Italy’s World Cup fate.
Italy sit second in their five-team group, six points behind leaders Norway and three ahead of third-placed Israel with a game in hand on both.
A win would secure Italy at least second place and a spot in the play-offs, with only first place giving direct qualification for next year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
However Italy, who have three fixtures left to play, would need Norway to slip up against Estonia next month to have a realistic chance of finishing top, due to the 19-goal gap in goal difference between the two teams.
