The Israel football team, which faces France at the Stade de France on Thursday in the Nations League, feels “rather safe” at its training location in the Paris region, according to its coach Ran Ben Shimon, who is expressed in a video released Tuesday by his federation.
4000 police officers and gendarmes, 1600 security agents
After the violence that occurred last week in Amsterdam, where supporters of the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv were attacked, and while new clashes broke out in the capital of the Netherlands, Thursday's match in France is considered by the authorities as “high risk”. This is why significant resources will be deployed to deal with possible clashes, as recalled by the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, in the 20:00 news on TF1.
If “there is no particular threat”, “risk 0 does not exist”. And for this reason “we took exceptional measures before, during and after the France-Israel match,” he insists. 4000 police officers and gendarmes as well as 1600 security agents will be mobilized, so that the event takes place without a hitch. The special Raid unit is also called upon. “The Raid, since the Israeli team set foot on French soil, has been active. And the Raid will be in the stadium”specified Bruno Retailleau.
“The police are doing their job”
“We feel quite safe here, there are a lot of security forces around us,” said Ran Ben Shimon, the coach of the Israeli team. “They are doing the right thing, and I am focusing on the match,” he finished. The place of training and residence of the Israelis is kept secret, and the context has dissuaded supporters from coming to the stadium in large numbers. Barely 20,000 people are expected Thursday evening.
The Israeli authorities on Sunday called on their own supporters to avoid going to Saint-Denis, a week after the violence in Amsterdam, linked to the context of the war in Gaza. In the same video, Israel team midfielder Ethane Azoulay confirms that the players feel safe: “The police are doing their job, and our minds are completely on football,” he says, regretting however the absence of supporters: “It's a bit of a shame that the Jews can't come to the match, but that's how it is for now, and we're focusing on football.”
