Thousands of soccer fans were kept inside Belgium’s national stadium for about 2½ hours Monday after a game between host Belgium and Sweden was suspended at halftime following a gunman fatally shooting two Swedes in Brussels before kickoff.
The European Championship qualifier was being played about 3 miles (5 kilometres) from the shooting in the centre of the Belgian capital city, with over 35,000 fans attending the match.
With the suspect still at large, Belgian authorities kept fans inside the venue for security reasons before they started the evacuation around midnight local time.
Fans chanted “All together, All together” inside the King Baudouin Stadium after the match was halted, with thousands of supporters from both sides also shouting “Sweden, Sweden!”
Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, told reporters the investigation was centring on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting.”
“During the evening, a claim of responsibility was posted on social media, having been recorded by a person claiming to be the assailant. This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State,” Van Duyse said. “The Swedish nationality of the victims was put forward as the probable motive for the act. At this time, no element indicates a possible link with the Israeli-Palestinian situation.”
Van Duyse added that “security measures were urgently taken to protect the Swedish supporters.”
Fans remained patient well into the night and were still chanting as midnight approached.
Belgium had already qualified for the tournament to be held in Germany next year. The teams were tied 1-1 at halftime after Romelu Lukaku cancelled out Viktor Gyokeres’ opener.
European soccer governing body UEFA confirmed the match had been called off.
“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,” UEFA said.
According to Swedish media, some Sweden fans left the stands and were allowed in the press room in the stadium. One fan, Peter Lindqvist, who is at the stadium, told the Expressen newspaper that fans were urged to speak English and take a taxi once they are allowed to leave the stadium.
Players and officials supported the decision to call off the match.
“I found out during the break on the way down and the decision from all the players and managers, both us and Belgium, is obvious, that we cannot play the match. It is completely disgusting,” said Sweden coach Janne Andersson. “I get so sad. It is extremely tragic and I think of those affected and their relatives. What kind of world are we living in?”
Belgium’s crisis centre raised the level of threat in Brussels to the highest possible and asked citizens to avoid unnecessary travel.
The Swedish FA earlier said in a message to Swedish supporters on site that the Belgian police wanted fans to stay in the arena for security reasons.
“Keep calm and take care of each other,” the FA said. “Our thoughts go out to all the relatives of those affected in Brussels.”
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo suggested the attack, which took place more than an hour before the match, was linked to “terrorism.”
“A horrible shooting in Brussels, and the perpetrator is actively being tracked down,” said Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, adding that she was joining government talks at the National Crisis Center.