Israel urges fans to skip France-Israel football match in Paris

JERUSALEM: Authorities have urged Israeli fans to skip Thursday’s (Nov 7) France-Israel football match in Paris, after violence in Amsterdam following a match between an Israeli team and a local one.
The Paris fixture will take place one week after the clashes – condemned as “anti-Semitic” by Israeli, Dutch and European leaders – followed a game between Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch team Ajax.
About two dozen people were injured in the violence.
Israel’s National Security Council called on Israelis to “avoid attending sports games/cultural events involving Israelis, with an emphasis on the upcoming match of the Israeli national team in Paris”, a statement said Sunday.
“Groups that want to harm Israelis have been identified in a number of European cities” including Brussels, major UK cities, Amsterdam and Paris “on the occasion of the upcoming match of the Israeli national team”, it added.
The council also warned Israelis abroad against displaying recognisable signs that they are Israeli or Jewish.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez described the upcoming France-Israel match as high risk. He said 4,000 gendarmes would be deployed in the stadium, on public transport and across the French capital.
Israeli authorities had also warned fans against attending a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game in the Italian city of Bologna on Friday, which passed off without incident.