The Euro 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden was halted at halftime after two Swedish nationals were shot dead in a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels on Monday.
The Swedish outlet TV6 said that the Swedish team did not wish to resume the game in the second half, and that the Belgian players agreed, according to Reuters.
“Following a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels this evening, it has been decided after consultation with the two teams and the local police authorities, that the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden is abandoned,” UEFA said in a statement on Monday.
More than 35,000 soccer fans holed up in the nearby national stadium for hours as the capital went on its highest terror alert level with the assailant at large.
In a video circulating on social media, the alleged assailant, who called himself Abdesalem Al Guilani, claimed he had carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS.
The attack reportedly came in revenge for a six-year-old boy in Illinois who was allegedly murdered by his landlord for being Muslim.
Joseph M. Czuba, the 71-year-old Chicago-area landlord accused of stabbing the young boy and his mother, has been arrested and charged with murder and hate crimes in the case.
The shooting took place about three miles from King Baudouin Stadium, where the game was played.
“The population needs to be actively vigilant and avoid any unnecessary travel,” anti-terror center spokeswoman Laura Demullier said, adding that the top priority for authorities was to get the thousands of fans safely out of the King Baudouin Stadium.
Fans from both sides chanted “All together, All together,” and “Sweden, Sweden!” according to the Associated Press.
“I have just offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish PM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo wrote on X after the shooting in his country.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one,” he continued.
Belgium has already qualified for the Euro 2024 tournament, while Sweden was eliminated from contention when Austria tied Azerbaijan 1-1 earlier on Monday.
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