Anti-Israel demonstrators threw stones and fireworks at police as they tried to disrupt an under-19 soccer match between Israel and Norway in Skien on Tuesday.
Videos posted by pro-Palestinian activists showed police in riot gear clashing with protesters. Demonstrators banged on the gates of Skagerrak Arena, and police pepper sprayed them.
Protesters wearing keffiyeh and waving Palestinian flags beat up police and picked up loose gravel and threw it at the gate.
“Norway and Israel played a soccer match, and yet how can you boycott Russia from all sports stadiums while Israel participates in all sports scenes and Eurovision while committing genocide against Palestinians?” What?? Double standards!'' photographer and activist Eyad Al Zaro wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
The Norwegian Football Federation decided last Tuesday to cancel matches behind closed doors after “comprehensive assessment of the safety of the players and the general public”.
Safety concerns for Israeli soccer matches
Med Israel for Fred (MIFF) originally planned to watch the match with its members before it was played behind closed doors. MIFF director Konrad Marland wrote on Tuesday that he wondered what would happen to Israeli athletes if protesters invaded.
“Do we want a country where violent nationalist and Islamist activists can control who can play soccer and who can watch soccer? Or do we want such violent mobs to be arrested and denounced? Do you want a country where the United States is free?'' Marland wrote on Tuesday.
The Israeli team lost to Norway 2-0, ending their UEFA European Championship qualifying journey.
