Sweden say it was ‘impossible to continue’ after terrorist attack

The coach of Sweden, Janne Andersson, and the captain of the team, Victor Lindelof, explained how the European qualification with Belgium was stopped at half-time (1:1) because of the terrorist act in Brussels.

At least two Swedish fans were killed in an attack by a follower of “Islamic State” in the city, which happened before the football match.

Sweden’s players and coaching staff learn the tragic news at half-time.

“I went down to the break and I get this information and I immediately feel that it is completely unreal in some way. What kind of world do we live in today? I am terribly sorry,” said Janne Andersson, quoted by Swedish publication Aftonbladet.

The Euros qualifier between Belgium and Sweden has been abandoned after the players decided not to come out for the second half following reports of a shooting in Brussels where two Swedish football fans were killed. pic.twitter.com/u2rDVbaW6l

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“When we started talking about it with the players, we were 100% unanimous that we didn’t want to play, out of respect for the injured and their families,” continued the Sweden coach. Swedish national team captain Viktor Lindelof took matters into his own hands on the half time.

“I tried to talk to all the players about how they felt and then I felt I had to talk to the Belgian players and explain how we see the situation. As Janne said, we were very clear that we didn’t want to continue the match. We explained everything to the Belgians and they totally agreed,” says Lindelof.

He also spoke about the discussions with the players at half-time. “Those who brought their families or friends here wanted to try to contact them directly and see that they were OK. I think our security team did a very good job of explaining the situation to us. They reassured us and “They said the stadium is the safest place in Brussels at the moment. We felt quite safe there, although people started to worry,” Lindelof added.