ITALY’S crucial World Cup qualifier against Israel next Tuesday is generating significant tension due to threats of pro-Palestinian protests.
The national team is already under pressure as they struggle to secure automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup finals.
Italy witnessed some of Europe’s largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations last weekend in response to Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across the country expressing anger at Israel’s actions and demanding the nation be barred from international sports.
These protests were triggered by Israel’s military operation in Gaza which began after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
During Friday’s massive strike action supporting Palestinians, demonstrators visited the Italian national team’s training centre in Florence calling for the Israel match to be cancelled.
Only approximately 4,000 tickets had been sold for the game in Udine as of Tuesday with the small north-eastern city selected specifically to limit potential disorder.
Udine previously hosted Italy’s match against Israel in the Nations League in September 2024 which proceeded largely without incident despite a massive security operation including soldiers on the stadium roof.
The threat of much larger and more disruptive protests has prompted Udine’s mayor Alberto Felice De Toni to request the match be postponed.
Italy’s coach Gennaro Gattuso described the situation in Gaza as very sad and lamented the difficult atmosphere surrounding this key qualifier.
He expressed concern about playing a home match with thousands of protesters outside the stadium instead of an enthusiastic crowd.
Gattuso’s task is complicated further by Italy’s precarious World Cup qualification position where only the group winner secures an automatic spot.
Italy currently sits second level on nine points with Israel and six behind leaders Norway though with a game in hand on both rivals.
Norway’s far superior goal difference means Italy must win all four remaining matches and hope Norway slips up before their final group meeting.
Second place and a play-off spot appears the most likely route to the World Cup for Italy who haven’t played a knockout fixture since winning the tournament in 2006.
Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups exiting at the play-off stage for the 2022 tournament despite being reigning European champions. – AFP