There were riots, but the biggest scandal in the stands did not occur when a gallery of French stars had to watch Israel win a point in a 0-0 match in the Nations League.

The match in Paris is seen as a high-risk match due to recent clashes between Israeli teams. This was the result of the many empty seats in the spectator stands after several people boycotted. Less than a quarter of the 80,000 spectators allowed were present at the Stade de France.

Before the match, it was reported that many supporters demonstrated in the area around the stadium. At the start of the match there was a tendency for unrest in the stands, but according to the AP news agency, security officers were quick enough to stop it.

Some 4,000 police officers were deployed in Paris on Thursday. Many are in stadiums, but some are also in cities and at public transport points.

France created a lot of chances, and it’s hard to believe that they never scored the winning goal. The Israeli defense provided resistance and provided goalkeeper Daniel Peretz with good working conditions. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper himself had to act several times, including when he saved Warren Zaïre-Emery’s shot which almost hit the line a quarter of an hour before the end of the match.

In the second match in the pool, Italy won 1-0 over Belgium through a goal from Sandro Tonali. Italy leads the group with a three-point advantage over France before the final round. Then the top teams will meet each other in Italy.

(© NTB)