the president of the Israeli Federation does not want to make France-Israel a political event

In the columns of Ouest-France, Shino Moshe Zuares, the president of the Israeli Football Federation, wants to ease tensions before the France-Israel Nations League match on Thursday at the Stade de France, a meeting classified as very high risk.

France-Israel will take place in a tense context. While the match of the 5th day of the League of Nations, scheduled for Thursday at 8:45 p.m. at the Stade de France, is classified 5 on a scale of 5 by the services of the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism, security is organized around of the Israeli delegation. With 48 hours to go before the match, the president of the Israeli Federation wants to play a calming role and avoid excesses like there may have been in Amsterdam a few days ago.

“France has always welcomed us in Paris. Even during the last Paris Olympics, we had the feeling of being welcome and we felt like any other delegation. At the Olympics, for example, the public local welcomed us in a respectful manner. At the end of the day, it’s just a football match, and that’s how it should be looked at,” confides Shino Moshe Zuares to Ouest-France.

“Sport should connect people”

Convinced that there has been “excellent coordination” between security officials in France and Israeli interlocutors “for many years”, the leader “greatly appreciates” the efforts “of the host country”, which is doing “everything for the best “. On the other hand, Shino Moshe Zuares does not want this France-Israel match to be a tool for politicians. “I don’t appreciate politicians who exploit sport for negative purposes. I really appreciate the French president who promised to come to the match. Sport should connect people, and not become a tool for political games.”

Alongside the whole security aspect, Ran Ben Shimon’s players are trying to prepare as best they can for the meeting. “It’s a shame that our Israeli public is not at the stadium. We think of them, we will do everything for them. The sensations here are very good, the security is doing its job to the maximum and we have our heads on the “We concentrate on the match. We only think about football, what’s around, we don’t think about it too much,” said midfielder Ethane Azoulay in a video from the Israeli Federation.