By Victor Kanayo
The European Championship qualifier between Belgium and Sweden which had gone halfway was suspended after both sides refused to emerge for the second half.
The situation was triggered after two Swedish football fans were shot dead in Brussels ahead of Monday’s game.
The score was 1-1 at half-time when the decision was taken to suspend the game and fans were told to remain in the King Baudouin Stadium “until security permits them to leave.”
Early Tuesday morning, UEFA then confirmed that the match had been abandoned via a statement, describing the incident as a “suspected terrorist attack”.
Tension Amidst Fans’ Chant
According to SkySports, fans chanted “All together, All together,” with thousands from both sides also shouting “Sweden, Sweden!” as they waited inside Belgium’s national stadium. The 35,000 supporters were eventually allowed to leave in groups just after midnight local time. The gunman, however, remains on the loose.
The shooting took place around 45 minutes before kick-off and three miles (5km) from the stadium. It is unclear if the victims were in Brussels to watch the game but reports said the pair were wearing Swedish football shirts.
FA Reaction
Speaking via social media platform X, known as Twitter before, the Swedish FA wrote: “Keep calm and take care of each other. Our thoughts go out to all the relatives of those affected in Brussels. Our thoughts are with all those affected.
“This is a city in a state of shock right now. At about quarter past seven here, a man in a hi-vis orange jacket went into a building armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and shot dead two people with at least one other person injured.
“The man hasn’t been caught yet. The police are still looking for him. The terror level in Belgium has been immediately raised to the highest possible. People are being told to stay at home and France have tightened their border controls out of fear.
“There are videos on social we are not yet able to verify reportedly by this person saying that they claim allegiance to Islamic state and specifically saying they’ve killed Swedish people.”
Government Confirmation
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo on Tuesday morning while speaking via a press conference confirmed the killing of two people.
He also revealed that those shot dead were Swedish nationals.
He said, “Terrorism is directed against people everywhere. Terrorists will never defeat us and we are fighting it together with our Swedish friends.
“Moments like these are a heavy ordeal but we are never going to let ourselves be intimidated by them.”
