‘Warm gesture’: Israeli footballers give mascots their jackets on freezing night in Scotland (VIDEO)

21 Nov, 2018 13:31 / Updated 6 years ago

Israeli players won praise for a warm-hearted gesture on a chilly night in Glasgow when they gave young mascots their jackets before the UEFA Nations League clash against Scotland.

As the two teams lined up on the pitch for the national anthems, accompanied by mascots clad in replica kits, several Israel players noticed some of the youngsters were feeling the cold in the freezing conditions.

They then unzipped their jackets and wrapped them around the mascots, who appeared grateful for the extra layer.

The considerate gesture was hailed as a “lovely touch” on social media and a "show of class.”

Once the action got underway in the crunch game in Nations League Group C1, it was Scotland who were caught cold when the Israelis opened the scoring on 9 minutes through Beram Kayal.

However, the Scots warmed to the task and Celtic winger James Forrest hit a hat-trick – taking to put the home team 3-1 up and in control with just over an hour played.

Eran Zahavi gave the visitors hope when he netted on 75 minutes, although the Scots held on for a victory which put them top of the group and sealed promotion to the second tier of the inaugural UEFA competition. They also have a guaranteed play-off spot for Euro 2020, should they fail to qualify automatically.

READ MORE: Russia miss out on UEFA Nations League promotion after defeat in Sweden

The result left Israel second in the group on six points from four games, three ahead of bottom-placed Albania.

It may come as cold comfort given the result, but at least the Israel team won praise for their warm pre-match gesture on a bitterly cold night in Glasgow.