Pro-Palestinian protest warnings heighten tension for Italy's World Cup qualifier against Israel
Italy is struggling to secure automatic qualification for next year's World Cup finals with the team under added pressure due to the tense atmosphere surrounding Tuesday's qualifier against Israel in Udine.
Last weekend saw some of Europe's largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations take place in Italy as Israeli military operations continue in Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of individuals gathered across Italian cities to voice their opposition to Israel's actions with increasing calls for the nation to be excluded from international sports.
These protests followed Israel's military campaign in Gaza which began after the October 7 2023 attack by Hamas militants on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.
During Friday's widespread strike in support of Palestinians demonstrators visited the Italian national team's training base in Florence demanding the cancellation of the match against Israel.
By Tuesday only around 4,000 tickets had been sold for the game in Udine a small city in northeastern Italy chosen specifically to reduce the risk of unrest.
Udine previously hosted Italy's match against Israel during the Nations League in September 2024 That encounter concluded without major incidents although it was protected by a significant security presence including armed personnel on the stadium roof.
However the prospect of larger and more disruptive protests led Udine's mayor Alberto Felice De Toni to request the match be postponed.
Deeply Distressing
This week Italy's coach Gennaro Gattuso described the situation in Gaza as deeply distressing and expressed concerns about the difficult atmosphere for a match vital to Italy's hopes of avoiding a third consecutive World Cup absence.
We expect around 10,000 people outside the stadium and 5-6,000 inside I would have preferred a home match with an enthusiastic crowd such as the one in Bergamo last month when Italy defeated Estonia 5-0 Gattuso stated.
His challenge is already significant without the added political pressures of facing Israel as Italy's chances of securing direct World Cup qualification remain uncertain.
Only the winner of the five-team group will gain automatic qualification with Italy currently second tied on nine points with Israel but six points behind leaders Norway although they have one match in hand over both teams.
However Norway's superior goal difference a 16-goal advantage over Italy means Gattuso's team must win all remaining four matches while hoping Norway slip up before their visit to the San Siro next month.
As a result finishing second and securing a playoff spot is now Italy's most likely route to the World Cup a tournament where they have not progressed beyond the group stage since their 2006 victory.
Italy were eliminated at the qualification playoff stage for the past two World Cups failing to qualify for the 2022 edition in Qatar despite being reigning European champions.