Snipers on stadium roof but no major incidents as Italy beats Israel in World Cup qualifier

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UDINE, Italy (AP) — The World Cup qualifier between Italy and Israel took place without major incidents on Tuesday amid a heavy police presence that included snipers on the stadium roof.

Italy won 3-0 in a game that had been placed in the highest risk category despite a breakthrough ceasefire deal that has paused two years of war in Gaza.

There were skirmishes between protesters and police on the streets of Udine at a pro-Palestinian demonstration before the match but no serious disruptions during the game itself. However, stewards had to act quickly to prevent a couple of fans from running onto the field carrying Palestinian flags.

“Today wasn’t easy for us,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. “I want to thank the police who have done an incredible job in these days."

The Israel team bus was escorted to the stadium by 13 police vehicles, including some from the special forces, and several motorbikes.

The sound of helicopters surveilling the city had filled the air since the morning, with drones spotted in the sky and snipers also seen on the roof of the Israel team's hotel.

In the city center, around 10,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian march, which stayed incident free for nearly three hours before arriving at its final stop. Then about 50 people — with their faces covered — started clashing with police, who used water cannons and tear gas to try and disperse them.

The group was apparently trying to get past the police cordons to head toward the stadium, which is on the outskirts of the city. They threw metal barriers at riot police as well as flares and other objects and set fire to garbage cans.

Public broadcaster RAI said one of its journalists had to be taken to a hospital after being hit in the face by a rock.

Many shops and restaurants decided not to open on Tuesday and there are strict rules for those that did — including the removal of any outdoor furniture or other objects that could potentially be used as weapons.

Italy also played Israel a year ago in Udine, which was chosen because of the relative difficulty of reaching the city in north-east Italy, near the Slovenian border, and the ease of isolating the stadium, where road blocks have been set up all around.

The area was declared a “red zone,” and supporters were strongly advised to arrive early because of rigorous checks, with everyone having to pass through metal detectors, too.

Less than 10,000 tickets were sold for the qualifier at the 25,000-seat Stadio Friuli and there appeared to be fewer people inside the stadium than at the demonstration.

The game had been in doubt last month when UEFA considered suspending Israel over the war and Udine Mayor Alberto Felice De Toni called for the game to be postponed.

“Honestly it wasn’t easy … for many days we were always there thinking that maybe there was the possibility of not playing the match," Gattuso said. "We came, we prepared for it with an environment that we knew was not a festive environment and we felt that.”

There were boos from some fans when the Israeli anthem was played but the rest of the stadium tried to drown that out with loud applause.

Mateo Retegui converted a penalty on the stroke of halftime and doubled his tally with a curled strike into the top right corner in the 74th minute. Gianluca Mancini headed in a third in stoppage time.

Italy secured itself at least a playoff spot as it attempts to avoid missing a third straight World Cup.

The Azzurri are second in their group, three points behind Norway and six ahead of Israel, which has played one game more than Italy.

Only the group winner advances directly to next year’s tournament in North America. The second-place finisher progresses to a playoff — the stage where four-time champion Italy was eliminated during qualifying for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer