Belgium vs Sweden abandoned at half-time after two Swedish fans killed in Brussels

Sweden have taken the decision to not play the second half of their Euro 2024 against Belgium after a gunman killed two people wearing Swedish football shirts.

The victims were wearing Swedish national shirts at the time of the shooting, according to local reports.

No suspect has yet been arrested as the gunman is still at large, with Belgium's capital city on the highest terrorism alert.

Police have cordoned off the scene.

A police spokesperson confirmed that two people had been tragically killed in a shooting.

A spokesperson for prosecutors also declined to give any details regarding the victims or any possible motive.

Belgium vs Sweden took place at the King Baudouin Stadium, around three miles from the shooting.

Fans inside the King Baudouin Stadium. Image: Getty

But the game lasted just 45 minutes as the Euro 2024 qualifier was abandoned at the break, with the score 1-1.

Former Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres opened the scoring as he gave Sweden the lead in the 15th minute.

Romelu Lukaku, who is on loan at AS Roma, levelled from the spot in the 31st minute.

The match did not continue after the interval as players decided they did not want to continue the clash because of the shooting that had taken place before kick-off.

UEFA released a statement shortly after the abandonment of Belgium vs Sweden.

The statement 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."

On X, Belgium's prime minister Alexander De Croo wrote: "My deepest condolences to the relatives of the cowardly assassination attempt in Brussels.

"We are monitoring the situation and would like to ask the residents of Brussels to be vigilant."

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Topics: Belgium, Sweden, Football

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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