The 2024 European Championship qualifier between Belgium and Sweden was abandoned at half-time after two Swedes were shot dead in Brussels on Monday evening, per the Guardian.
The tragic incident took place three miles from the King Baudouin Stadium before the match and is being treated as terrorism.
It is unclear whether the two victims were in the city to watch the game but they were reportedly wearing Swedish football shirts.
The two teams were level on 1-1 when the decision to suspend the match was made.
Supporters and players were told to remain in the stadium for their safety before an evacuation started at about 10.45 pm.
UEFA later confirmed the game had been abandoned in a statement that read: “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.”
Sweden’s manager Janne Andersson said: “The team agreed 100% that we didn’t want to play on out of respect for the victims and their families.”
Belgium had already qualified for the Euro 2024, with the team top of Group F after securing five victories from six matches.
Sweden failed to book a place at the finals in Germany following Austria’s 1-0 success over Azerbaijan earlier on Monday. The Blue and Yellow won only two of their five matches in the qualifiers.
Their captain Victor Lindelof said that he sees no reason to replay the game as the fate of the two teams has already been decided.
