As Israel’s football team gears up for their first international fixture since the October war, Pristina police heighten vigilance ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifier against Kosovo. Concerns arise due to social media posts calling for the game’s cancellation, criticizing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza with the hashtag #BabyKillersAreNotWelcomedHere.
Despite Kosovo’s predominantly Muslim population aligning with the pro-US stance, security measures are increased to ensure the smooth conduct of the match, with personalized tickets and ID card verification mandated for entry to the Fadil Vokrri stadium.
The Football Federation of Kosovo admitted that they considered holding the game in an empty stadium due to security reasons.
“After the meeting with UEFA, the decision was made to play the game with spectators,” Agim Ademi, the chairman of the FFK told local media.
He added that all the measures foreseen by the UEFA regulations will be taken so that the match is not followed by any possible incident.
The game was originally scheduled to take place on October 15 but was postponed after Hamas fighters poured across the border with Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 11,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians and many of them children have since been killed across the Gaza Strip in Israel’s retaliatory bombardments and ground offensive.
In 2016, Kosovo police alongside their colleagues from Albania and North Macedonia thwarted potential simultaneous attacks from the Islamic State group on the Israel squad that was playing a World Cup qualifier in Tirana and another target in Kosovo.
Nineteen people were detained, while eight ended up behind bars for up to 10 years.
Israel is currently third in Euro qualifying Group I, five points behind leaders Romania, and retains a good chance of making it through to next year’s finals in Germany.
Following the match in Pristina, however, they must squeeze another two games into the window where other teams play twice: they play second-placed Switzerland next Wednesday and Romania on Saturday, both ‘home’ games to be played in Felcsut in Hungary.
Kosovo are four points further back in fourth..
