Despite the violence which marred the Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau reaffirmed that the Nations League match between France and Israel, Thursday November 14, would be well contested at the Stade de France as planned. Mathieu Zagrodzki, a researcher specializing in internal security, argued instead for relocation to the provinces. Faced with the same situation, the Belgian authorities opted for Hungary, organizing the Belgium-Israel meeting behind closed doors in Debrecen.
Franceinfo: sport: Are fears around France-Israel increased after what happened in Amsterdam?
Mathieu Zagrodzki: The events in Amsterdam do not change the situation, but make it worse. The announced system was already impressive; I believe it involved 2,500 law enforcement officers. For comparison, an OM-PSG, without the Parisian supporters, it was around 600. I think that the main fear of the decision-makers was political demonstrations, banners, inside and outside the stadium, no not that they were unaware of the possibility of Israeli supporters being attacked, but the level of violence reached in Amsterdam means that we are probably saying that there is a risk of very serious violence against the supporters.
Can we fear that the violence observed in Amsterdam will be repeated in Paris?
Regarding the type of behavior seen in Amsterdam, we can think that it was not something very organized and prepared in advance. The biggest risk is spontaneous incidents, because the tone rises and two groups face each other. On the other hand, these events in Amsterdam can of course give ideas to individuals in France, who perhaps did not wait for this violence in Amsterdam to have these ideas.
This can create a phenomenon of contagion, of response, which inevitably worries the authorities.
Mathieu Zagrodzki, researcher specializing in internal securityat franceinfo: sport
The other issue is the protection of the entire Israeli delegation, which will be subject to extremely tight and secure supervision.
Is the Stade de France adequate to meet these security challenges?
It is not a good idea to organize this match at the Stade de Francewhere the flows are very important and extensive, the transport stations are quite far away, there are many of them with three rail lines (RER B, D, line H), the metros (lines 12, 13, 14) and the many buses. That's quite complex security, whereas in the provinces, let's take the example of Metz, a smaller stadium which would perhaps have been full, with fewer access routes. There are undoubtedly people dissuaded from going to the stadium for fear of incidents [vendredi 8 novembre, seules 20 000 des plus de 80 000 places dont disposent le Stade de France avaient trouvé preneurs].
Does the absence of ultras, unlike the events in Amsterdam, reduce the risk of clashes?
The fact that there will be no Israeli ultras on Thursday, as was the case in Amsterdam, who sing and are very visible, will perhaps help to heat up tempers less. But the international situation, with the repercussions in France, is so tense that there is no need for there to be possible clashes or attacks. There is a virulence which means that people wearing the colors of the country may not feel completely safe.
What measures do you think should be taken to secure this high-risk match?
It takes a lot of visible presence of law enforcement and very mobile units to possibly carry out arrests. A bit like the Olympics during the opening ceremony, we need one cop per meter. I am giving a deliberately spectacular example, but the best way to deter is the visible presence of the police. In addition to the perimeter around the stadium and the transport stations near the stadium, law enforcement is required at the few major stations, the points where spectators are transported.
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