Inexperience Cost Brighton on European Debut, Says De Zerbi 

Football - Europa League - Brighton & Hove Albion Training & Press Conference - American Express Elite Football Performance Center, Lancing, Britain - September 20, 2023 Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi during training. (Reuters)
Football - Europa League - Brighton & Hove Albion Training & Press Conference - American Express Elite Football Performance Center, Lancing, Britain - September 20, 2023 Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi during training. (Reuters)
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Inexperience Cost Brighton on European Debut, Says De Zerbi 

Football - Europa League - Brighton & Hove Albion Training & Press Conference - American Express Elite Football Performance Center, Lancing, Britain - September 20, 2023 Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi during training. (Reuters)
Football - Europa League - Brighton & Hove Albion Training & Press Conference - American Express Elite Football Performance Center, Lancing, Britain - September 20, 2023 Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi during training. (Reuters)

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi said the lack of experience in his young squad cost them a victory at home after the Premier League club were narrowly beaten 3-2 on their European debut by Greek side AEK Athens.

Brighton, who finished sixth in the English top-flight last season and qualified for European football for the first time in the club's history, missed the experience of defender and captain Lewis Dunk through injury in the group Europa League stage fixture.

De Zerbi said he was proud of his team's performance regardless of the result.

"We were unlucky; I think the result is unfair," the Italian said. "I'm really pleased with the performance, we played very well with personality.

"Maybe we don't have the right experience, we have younger players, and we can pay (the price) for this.

"For us it was a really historic day. For our fans, I'm sorry for them. We can decide how we are going to play, but we cannot decide the result."

Brighton face a difficult task in their bid to progress past the group stage, where they will also come up against former champions Ajax Amsterdam and three-time finalists Olympique de Marseille.

Brighton will next host Bournemouth on Sunday in the Premier League, followed by a visit to Chelsea on Wednesday in the EFL Cup. They sit fifth in the league with 12 points from five matches, one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal.



France Says Won't Call Off Israel Game after Violence in Amsterdam

In this image taken from video, police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading them to the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading them to the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
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France Says Won't Call Off Israel Game after Violence in Amsterdam

In this image taken from video, police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading them to the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading them to the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)

Despite the violence directed at Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, France won't change its plans to host a Nations' League game against Israel next week, the interior minister said on Friday.
"France is not backing down because that would amount to giving up in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism", Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a post on X.
Tensions over Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza are running high in France, home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, where authorities this year reported a surge in antisemitic incidents.
Israel said it would send two planes to bring back fans of an Israeli soccer team from the Netherlands on Friday after overnight attacks in the streets that officials described as antisemitic.
Videos circulating on social media showed riot police intervening in street clashes, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs.
Paris police are planning to deploy over 2,000 officers around the Stade de France to secure the game on Thursday, Nov. 14, BFM TV reported. Authorities are also expected to cordon off an unusually large security perimeter.
The interior ministry and Paris police department did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for details of the exact plans.
Retailleau was meeting with the heads of the French soccer federation and top club PSG on Friday morning following the unfurling of a giant "Free Palestine" banner at a Champions League match this week.