Saudi women watch Italian cup final

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Chaperoned by men, thousands of women thronged a Saudi stadium Wednesday for the Italian Super Cup final between Juventus and AC Milan, brushing off a controversy over entry restrictions.

With painted faces and banners, female football fans entered the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in western Jeddah city through designated turnstiles for “families”, with solo women barred from purchasing tickets.

The restriction had sparked a furious reaction in Italy, with deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini calling it “disgusting”.

But with reports there were up to 15,000 women among the 62,000 crowd, accompanied by men or male children, Italian football league president Gaetano Micciche hailed the turnout a success.

Serie A president Gaetano Micciche said the presence of women in the stadium would go down in history as the first international competition that Saudi women were allowed to watch in a stadium.