Honours even, an incendiary situation well managed by France’s authorities, and a question mark that will not fade easily into the Parisian night. A 1-1 draw between Israel and Mali meant that, football-wise, nobody had too much to complain about and ensured a high-risk occasion passed with only the smallest of aggravations. Nobody wanted to see anything else; the security conundrum was answered comprehensively but the sporting question surrounding Israel has no chance of disappearing quickly.
The buildup had been fraught with concerns about what Israel’s first Olympic football tie since 1976 would bring. Their continued presence on the international stage remains divisive at best; deeply troubling at worst if the substantial body of evidence submitted to Fifa on behalf of Palestine’s football association, requesting that Israel is banned for violating the governing body’s statutes amid the war in Gaza, holds water.
