Italian soldier held in Bosnia over suspected spying at Edin Dzeko training | OneFootball

Italy’s build-up to the World Cup play-off final with Bosnia and Herzegovina has been clouded by a reported spying row, with Bosnian security detaining an Italian soldier for filming Edin Dzeko and his team-mates during a closed session, according to SportSports.ba.

The man stayed beyond the 15 minutes open to media, then was caught recording on his phone after the gates were shut. He is an Italian Eufor soldier based at Butmir, next to the national team’s training centre.

Italy, absent from the last two major tournaments, are under pressure ahead of the play-off final for a place at a World Cup that runs from 11 June to 19 July in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Italian federation insists the man acted alone and under no orders.

He was said to be a simple football fan who had dropped in to watch Sergueï Barbarez’s squad and filmed only for personal keepsakes, rather than part of any serious espionage operation.

Source: L'Équipe