Italy Players ‘Cursed At Us The Whole Game’, Israeli Footballers Say

ByMF Jones

The Israeli national football team is accusing Italy players of ‘cursing’ and ‘teasing’ them through their World Cup qualifier earlier this week, which led to things almost turning physical after the game.

The Italians beat Israel 5-4 in the end, with goalkeeper Gianlugi Donnarumma particularly involved in the verbal abuse his opponents:

Gianluigi Donnarumma wearing a gray goalkeeper jersey with the name "DONNARUMMA" and number 1 on the back. He has gloves on his hands. A man with gray hair, wearing a dark jacket, stands behind him with arms around Donnarumma. Other players in jerseys are visible in the background, including one with "AMBROSIO" on it.

Even Italy’s head coach, Gennaro Gattuso, got involved; initially trying to diffuse the situation but then getting in the faces of the Israeli players:

Prior to the game, Gattuso had expressed disappointment in being grouped with Israel in the qualifying rounds of the competition, lamenting the situation in Gaza:

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The game itself also saw Italian fans reference Israel’s involvement in Gaza, first turning their backs on the Israeli national anthem, and then holding up banners demanding the Israeli government pull out of the war.

As per GiveMeSport, a number of Israeli players complained post-match that Italy’s squad had ‘cursed at them’ throughout the entire game. Which sounds like your standard football match, to be fair. Players are always talking trash to each other! Perhaps there was something specific about these curses that the players took more personally than usual, eh?

In fairness, Israel captain Eli Dasa did accept it’s all part of the game: “An argument broke out, they were very, very emotional. They felt they were not in the game, and we deserved to win, and they tried to provoke a bit. It is part of football, so we moved on.”

They may have to get used to it if they plan to go further in the competition…

For the man arrested at a Pro-Palestine protest because police mis-read his Pro-Plasticine T-shirt, click HERE. Whoops

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