Tuesday, October 17, 2023 – Sweden captain, Victor Lindelof has called for his country’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium not to be finished after two Swedish supporters were shot dead in a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels on Monday night, October 16.
The match at the King Baudouin Stadium was abandoned at half-time after the two fans were gunned down in the city before the game.
Swedish supporters were locked inside the stadium until 4 am, while Swedish players were taken to the airport under police escort.
The score was 1-1 at the time the game was abandoned. Viktor Gyokeres gave Sweden a 15th-minute lead, but Romelu Lukaku had Belgium level just after the half-hour.
Lindelof has insisted there is ‘no reason to finish the match’, given Belgium have already qualified for Euro 2024, while Sweden cannot mathematically do so.
Belgium are already qualified and we don’t have the opportunity to get to the European Championship, so I see no reason to play [replay the game],’ the Manchester United defender said.
Belgian FA CEO Manu Leroy revealed news of the attack filtered through before the game, but the Euro 2024 qualifier was allowed to kick-off after police and security services were consulted.
‘Ten minutes before the match, reports started coming in about what had happened around the stadium,’ he said.
‘In consultation with the security and order services, it was then announced whether we could start the match.’
Leroy also explained the decision to abandon the game was taken after Lindelof communicated Sweden’s players did not want to play in the second half.
‘After the first half, the captain of Sweden announced that they did not want to start the second half,’ Leroy added.
‘Then it was important to discuss with the police how we could best evacuate the stadium.
‘The decision was made at the highest level at 11.45 pm.
‘Stand by stand we looked at how we could best lead the people out. The Swedish fans received a police escort, the players left under police escort to the airport to fly back to their home country.’
Sweden head coach Janne Andersson revealed to reporters after the match was suspended that he and his team were determined not to play out of respect for the victims.
‘When I came down for the break, I got this information,’ he said. ‘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 per cent that we didn’t want to play on out of respect for the victims and their families
Asked whether the match will resume at a later date or whether it may be replayed from the start, Leroy replied: ‘Only time will tell. It is surreal what happened. The players quickly knew at half time that the situation was serious, but first we had to get confirmation of the facts.
‘As for the Belgian players: Everyone was allowed to leave as agreed. Some went home, others to the players’ hotel.’
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