Suddenly football took a backseat: the European Championship qualifying game between Belgium and Sweden on Monday (October 16, 2023) was canceled due to a terror warning in the Brussels venue.
Before the game, at least two people were killed by gunfire in Brussels – as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo confirmed, the victims were Swedes. The crime scene is said to have been only five kilometers from the Heysel Stadium and, according to police, the perpetrator is still on the run.
“Both teams, the Belgian and the Swedish, together with UEFA, made the decision not to finish the game. What happened is very serious. It is terrible to hear that two of our fans died”, said the Swedish association president Fredrik Reinfeldt.
“What the hell kind of world do we live in?”
“I feel so sad. It is extremely tragic and I think of those affected and their families. What kind of world do we live in? What kind of world do we live in, the hell?”said Sweden coach Janne Andersson. “We can’t play football when something like that happens. We and Belgium completely agreed that we would not continue playing. It’s completely disgusting.”
An announcement in the stadium informed the spectators that the match would be abandoned when the score was 1:1. However, they initially had to remain seated in the stadium and wait for the green light from the security services to leave. The Swedish team also initially stayed in the stadium. According to the Belgian authorities, this is current “the safest place”explained Reinfeldt.
It was initially unclear whether and when the game would continue. Belgium had already qualified in Group F for the finals in Germany (June 14th to July 14th) last Friday.