ITALY:

Italy's 2026 World Cup qualifier with Israel was prefaced by clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and police on Tuesday as thousands of people marched through Udine in anger at the hosting of a match they felt should not be played.

The Gaza ceasefire deal signed on Monday and a hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas did nothing to dampen the resolve of around 10,000 protestors who descended on the small city in Italy's far north-east, a small section of whom were involved in disorder at the end of the march.

Over 1,000 police officers and army personnel were deployed while helicopters and drones flew overhead to keep a watch on a demonstration which was kept several kilometres away from the Bluenergy Stadium hosting the Group I fixture.

There was little

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