Last month, after the massacres of October 7 and the start of the Gaza war, the Israeli authorities having prohibited their national team from “traveling abroad”, Israel-Switzerland then Kosovo-Israel were postponed by the UEFA. Kosovo is preparing to welcome Israel on Sunday in qualifying for Euro 2024, for the first trip for the Israeli selection since the beginning of October.
In view of this disputed meeting in Pristina, reinforced security measures have been put in place by the authorities of Kosovo, the vast majority of whose 1.8 million inhabitants are of the Muslim faith, but which is a very close ally of the United States and maintains good diplomatic relations with Israel. In Pristina, the reception of the Israeli selection was for a time considered behind closed doors by the Kosovo Federation (FFK). But, following a meeting with UEFA, the decision was finally made to organize the meeting “in the presence of the public”, indicated the president of the FFK, Agim Ademi.
Special arrangements for welcoming the public
Some 14,000 tickets were put on sale. All are “personalized” and each spectator will have to present an identity document before being able to enter the grounds of the Fadil-Vokrri stadium, the authorities stressed. In recent weeks, several demonstrations in support of Palestinians in Gaza have taken place in Pristina. And messages related to Sunday’s meeting were shared on social networks, denouncing the Israeli bombings and sometimes calling for the match to be canceled, without provoking official reactions. But residents of the capital also paid tribute to the Israeli victims.
2023-11-11 09:44:24
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