After two Swedish supporters were shot dead in a suspected terrorist assault in Brussels on Monday night, October 16, Sweden captain Victor Lindelof has appealed for his country’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium to be postponed.
The game at King Baudouin Stadium was called off at halftime after two supporters were gunned down in the city prior to the game.
Swedish fans were locked inside the stadium until 4 a.m., while Swedish players were escorted to the airport by police.
The score was 1-1 when the game was called off. Sweden took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to Viktor Gyokeres, but Belgium equalized shortly after the half-hour mark thanks to Romelu Lukaku.
Lindelof has stated that there is ‘no reason to finish the match’ because Belgium has already qualified for Euro 2024 and Sweden cannot do so mathematically.
Belgium is already qualified, and we have no chance of qualifying for the European Championship, so I see no reason to play [replay the game].’ Manchester United’s defense stated.
Belgian FA CEO Manu Leroy claimed that news of the attack had spread prior to the game, but the Euro 2024 qualifier was allowed to begin after police and security agencies were briefed.
‘Ten minutes before the game, reports of what had transpired around the stadium began to come in,’ he claimed.
‘After consulting with the security and order services, it was decided if we could begin the match.’
Leroy further stated that the decision to leave the game was made when Lindelof informed Sweden’s players that they did not want to play in the second half.
‘After the first half, Sweden’s captain stated that they did not want to begin the second half,’ Leroy continued.
‘It was therefore critical to negotiate with the authorities how we could best evacuate the stadium.
‘At 11.45 p.m., the decision was reached at the highest level.
‘Stand by stand, we considered how to best lead the people out. The Swedish fans were escorted by police, and the players were escorted to the airport to travel back to their home country.’
After the match was called off, Sweden’s head coach, Janne Andersson, told media that he and his players were decided not to play out of respect for the victims.
‘I got this information when I came down for the break,’ he explained. ‘It felt absolutely surreal to me right away. What kind of world do we inhabit these days?
‘When I entered the locker room, the players unanimously agreed that we did not want to play out of respect for the victims and their families.’
When asked if the match would be resumed at a later date or replayed from the beginning, Leroy said, ‘Only time will tell. What transpired was bizarre. At halftime, the players realized the situation was severe, but we needed to confirm the facts first.
‘As for the Belgian players, everyone was given permission to leave as promised. Some went home, while others stayed at the players’ hotel.’
