Israeli national anthem jeered in Olympic football match with Mali

Israel's national anthem was loudly jeered before its 1-1 draw with Mali at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday night.

The game began with a massive security presence outside the stadium amid an increasingly strained international climate that has Paris' safety efforts squarely in the spotlight.

The Israel team arrived under a heavy police escort, with motorbike riders at the front and around a dozen riot police vans following behind. Armed police officers patrolled the Parc des Princes stadium, one with a rifle resting on his shoulder.

The atmosphere outside the venue was calm. Fans from both countries mingled, holding up flags and posing for photos.

Mali fans sang proudly when their anthem was played first. When it came to Israel's anthem, boos and whistles immediately rang out. The stadium speaker system playing the anthems then got notably louder in what seemed like an effort to drown out the jeers.

Once play began, Israeli players were booed each time they touched the ball.

Around 1,000 French police officers were on duty to provide security at the match where protests were expected, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

The game involving the Israeli team at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, as well as the Ukraine-Iraq match in the southeastern city of Lyon, had been identified by French security forces as high risk.

"All the competitions have a security plan, but it's true that these two matches, and particularly the match at the Parc des Princes, will have security, an anti-terror perimeter," Darmanin told BFM television and RMC radio.

"Tonight at the Parc des Princes there will be a thousand police officers who will ensure that we are there for the sport," he added.

All Israeli athletes at the Paris Games, which start officially on Friday, will have round-the-clock personal security provided by elite French police, both inside the Olympic village and every time they leave the compound in northern Paris.

A French police source told AFP that security forces were "expecting actions and disturbances around the stadium" on Wednesday and said it was possible that "people shout insults from the stands" or that there is "whistling and flags shown during the hymns, for example."