Israel, Poland U21 players protest UEFA refusal to remember Hamas attack victims

UEFA's refusal to hold a moment for silence for victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel forced players into creating their own show of respect in an Under 21 match on Friday.

Poland's youth side hosted Israel in Lodz and both teams decided to observe a minute of remembrance after the match had kicked off rather than before.

The moment of reflection related to attacks in Israel by the Hamas terrorist group when they broke Gaza's militarised border to kill about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and take about 240 hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Both sets of players stood in silence once the referee got the game underway and no action took place for the first minute of the match while all inside the ground observed the moment of respect.

Players remained in their formational positions rather than come together as is usual with pre-match tributes and there was silence around the ground as well.

Some supporters gathered in the Stadium LKS main stand for the youth encounter that eventually ended with Poland securing a valuable 2-1 victory.

The result leave Israel U21 side bottom of group d and making qualification for the European youth Championship practically impossible.

Match officials were also seen waiting patiently alongside the players who remained virtually motionless for the entirety of the minute silence.

UEFA and other football governing bodies have had to balance political decision making with sport in recent weeks as the war in the Middle East continues to worsen.

The European footballing body reportedly refused to give permission for a minute silence to be held pre-match and that decision sparked the unusual showing.

UEFA previously gave teams permission to hold a moment of silence before European