This Thursday evening (8:45 p.m.), Israel “hosts” France for the 3rd day of the League of Nations. A meeting which will take place in Budapest, Hungary, due to the conflict in the Middle East. Even exiled in Hungary, this meeting takes on a very particular security character, three days after the October 7 commemorations.
Unsurprisingly, on Thursday evening, the security service around the Bozsik Arena, in Budapest (Hungary), will be quite imposing. Several levels of filtering are planned. Since its exile in Viktor Orbán’s country, the Israeli football team has been placed under very high security during all its travels. Around the meetings, a very important security bubble is put in place by the local authorities but also by the Israeli authorities, who want to remain discreet about the support system.
For example, as for the Olympic Games, the Israeli football delegation is permanently accompanied by armed agents on Hungarian territory. A member of the Belgian federation, present during the match against Israel in September, described the security service as “very impressive”, even though the meeting took place behind closed doors.
According to information collected by RMC Sport, Thursday evening’s meeting between Israel and France is classified as “high risk” by the Hungarian authorities. This classification decision was decided by the Sports Events Qualification Commission during a meeting on September 11. Three days after the October 7 commemorations, security will therefore be a little more on the lookout, Thursday evening, for this meeting against France in this 9,500-seat enclosure, where a few French supporters are expected.
The Stade de France with a limited capacity for France-Israel?
In the country, Viktor Orbán also banned demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinians, citing risks for public security. The Hungarian authorities want to avoid the images of last September during the meeting between Israel and Italy, which only attracted 2,900 people. A group of 50 Italian fans, dressed entirely in black, turned their backs in protest during Israel’s national anthem, just before a Nations League match. An action which led to heated controversy in Italy. For the moment, no date for the return of matches on Israeli soil has been announced. A UEFA member confides that this “is not at all on the agenda”. Until further notice, the Israeli team must therefore play all these matches outside its borders.
Unforeseen and unpredictable actions are what the French authorities fear. On November 14, France will host Israel for the return match of the Nations League. This ultra-sensitive meeting should normally take place at the Stade de France, with the public. For the moment, the FFF has not opened the ticket office for this meeting. In front of supporters’ representatives last week, the body promised that tickets will be on sale soon. Without specifying whether the gauge will be limited. But it’s not the FFF that will have this last word. It will be up to the new Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, to make a decision, normally before the end of this week.
