Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier between Belgium and Sweden at the Roi Baudouin stadium in Brussels was abandoned - eventually - after players decided they would not play on following the killing of two Swedish fans in the city an hour before the game.
Around 7pm Brussels time on Monday, Tunisian national Abdesalem Lassoued shot two people who were reportedly wearing Sweden football jerseys on Boulevard d'Ypres, three miles from the stadium, killing both, and wounding a third victim.
Though the game kicked off as scheduled, it was abandoned at half-time, with the city on the highest possible terrorism alert.
Police in Belgium confirmed on Tuesday that they have shot dead the attacker in Brussels' Schaerbeek neighbourhood on Tuesday morning.
Brussels shooting: Sweden coach confirms players made call to abandon match
With police treating Monday's attack as terrorism, fans at Belgium's qualifier against Sweden on Monday night were held in the stadium for almost two hours after the decision was made to abandon the game at half-time.
A UEFA statement on Monday night said:
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. Further communication will be made in due course.
Reporting on the night suggested that the decision had been made by the two squads, rather than at an administrative level, and that was confirmed by Sweden manager Janne Andersson after the game.
Andersson revealed that the players had not been aware of the tragic events in Brussels before the game kicked off, and that they had all agreed that abandoning the game was the correct call when they learned of the shooting at half-time:
When I came down for the break, I got this information. Immediately I felt that it was completely unreal - what kind of world do we live in today?
I came into the locker room and, when the team started talking, we agreed 100% that we didn't want to play on out of respect for the victims and their families.
The call to abandon the match was made around an hour after kick-off, some time around 21:45 local time. It was only communicated on an official level from UEFA at 22:39 local time. The fans and players in the stadium only began to leave at close to midnight local time, as authorities encouraged them to stay safe with the city on a Level 4 terrorism alert - the highest in Brussels.
Sweden centre-back Victor Lindelof thanked the security at the King Baudouin Stadium for their handling of the situation, and went on to say he does not expect that the qualifier will be replayed:
Our security team handled it well and put us at ease. They explained that this is the safest place to be in Brussels.
Belgium are already qualified and we don't have the opportunity to get to the European Championship, so I see no reason to [restart or replay the game].
Swedish captain Lindelof shared his condolences with the families of the deceased on Tuesday, and said he also held the fans in the stadium in his thoughts after the traumatic events of Monday evening.
I’m shocked and devastated by the terrible incidents in Brussels with the cold-hearted attacks on our fellow Swedes. I’m lost for words for the cruelty and inhumanity, I want to send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected. At the same time, my…
— Victor Lindelöf (@vlindelof) October 17, 2023
Lindelof said:
I’m shocked and devastated by the terrible incidents in Brussels with the cold-hearted attacks on our fellow Swedes. I’m lost for words for the cruelty and inhumanity, I want to send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected. At the same time, my thoughts go out to all the supporters in Belgium last night, no one should ever go to a game of football and feel unsafe when supporting their team.
