The group stage match of the 2024 European Championship qualifying tournament between the national teams of Belgium and Sweden took place on the evening of October 16 in Brussels. After the first half, the score was a draw: the Swedes were the first to take the lead, but the hosts came back — Romelu Lukaku scored from the penalty spot.
The players did not come out for the second half because of the terrorist attack that occurred in the city. UEFA stated that the match has been cancelled, and there is no talk of a replay yet.
What happened in Brussels?
At about seven o’clock in the evening, a man in orange work clothes rode a moped into the center of Brussels and, shouting “Allahu Akbar”, opened fire on passers-by (presumably from a Kalashnikov assault rifle). This happened 5 km from the stadium, where a football match began at 20:45.
The victims were two fans of the Swedish national team who died, and another person was injured. The video went viral on social networks.
Later, the man published a video in which he said that he belongs to the terrorist group “Islamic State” (a terrorist organization banned in Russia). The criminal cited Israeli war crimes as the cause of the attack, as well as the murder of a 6‑year-old Palestinian in the United States. He stated that he intended kill the “infidels” further and ready to die.
It was reported that the terrorist could be a 45-year-old native of Tunisia, who has long been on the radar of Belgian intelligence services due to his radicalism. His house in the Brussels commune of Skarbek had already been searched, and in the morning killed during arrest.
How did they react to the terrorist attack at the stadium?
The players learned about what happened during the break of the match, and the Swedish national team players refused to come out for the second half. Team captain, defender Victor Lindelof, reached an agreement with the opposing team, and they did not finish the match:
“We can’t play football in this condition. We reached an agreement with Belgium. I found out about what happened during the break when I went down to the locker room — we cannot finish the match, this is the decision of all the players and managers.
This is disgusting and makes me very sad. This is extremely tragic and my thoughts go out to the victims and their families. What kind of world do we live in? What the hell world are we living in?”
Many spectators did not know about the terrorist attack and were surprised why the second half did not start. When the incident was announced at the stadium, panic began. Fans were not allowed into the city for several hours, because the level of terrorist threat in Brussels was raised to a high fourth level.
The evacuation of spectators began around midnight, approximately two hours after the match was stopped. The attack was condemned by many world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the attack cowardly:
“Our Europe is shocked by a new Islamist terrorist attack in Brussels. I have just spoken to the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexandre de Cros, to express the solidarity of the French people in this terrible moment that Brussels is experiencing.
We think of the victims of this cowardly attack, as well as our Belgian and Swedish friends, and share their shock.”