BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 Fans of Sweden鈥檚 soccer teams will be advised against wearing clothing in national colors when they travel abroad in the wake of the killing of two Swedish supporters before a European Championship qualifying match in Belgium.
At least one of the men shot dead in the incident in Brussels on Monday was wearing a Swedish soccer jersey.
They got out of a taxi not far from King Baudouin Stadium, which hosted the Belgium-Sweden match, and were chased into a building before being gunned down by a Tunisian national who posted a video online saying the Quran was 鈥渁 red line for which he is ready to sacrifice himself.鈥
Sweden recently raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a by an Iraqi refugee living in the country resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.
At a news conference in Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said 鈥渆verything indicates this is a terrorist attack against Sweden and Swedish citizens, just because they are Swedish.鈥
Martin Fredman, head of security for the Swedish soccer federation, said Tuesday that fans making trips abroad will be advised not to wear the blue-and-yellow attire associated with the country鈥檚 sports teams.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the case that a perpetrator has targeted Swedish citizens,鈥 Fredman said, 鈥渟o it would be reprehensible not to go with a recommendation that we should avoid (Swedish team clothing) when we are out on trips like this.鈥
Fredman said he hadn鈥檛 received any such advice from Belgian authorities before Monday鈥檚 match.
Sweden鈥檚 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Sports Confederation, a body which oversees the various sports associations in the country, published Tuesday a list of what it called 鈥減reventative measures鈥 that should be taken by those traveling abroad for sporting events.
Among them was the 鈥渆xtent one should be exposed to Swedish paraphernalia.鈥
Sweden's players returned to their clubs Tuesday after taking an overnight flight from Brussels following the suspension of their match against Belgium at halftime, by which time news had filtered through about the shootings.
The Sweden squad went directly to the airport once they were allowed to leave the stadium, which was locked down for 2 1/2 hours for security reasons before officials began an evacuation process around midnight.
The last of the Swedish supporters 鈥 totaling about 650, according to the Swedish soccer federation 鈥 left the stadium at about 4 a.m. under police surveillance, along with some staff from the federation.
All hotels where Swedish supporters were staying were also guarded by police, the federation said.
European soccer governing body UEFA said a moment of silence will be observed at all Euro 2024 qualifiers on Tuesday to honor the Brussels victims.
It remained unclear whether the Belgium-Sweden match would be completed at a later date. UEFA said it was too early to make any decision and that 鈥渇urther communication will be made in due course.鈥
Belgium and Austria have qualified for next year's tournament in Germany but both teams can still win Group F.
The Belgium team said it was 鈥渟till devastated鈥 by what had happened in a country hit by several extremist attacks in recent years, including suicide bombings in 2016 that killed 32 people and injured hundreds more in the Brussels subway and airport.
As Belgium woke up in a state of shock, many schools remained closed for the day as a terror alert for Brussels was raised overnight to 4, the country's top scale, indicating an extremely serious threat. The alert level in the city and the country was scaled down to 3 after the suspect was neutralized, Prime Mnister Alexander De Croo said.
鈥淲e want to thank all the fans in the stadium for their understanding and support in these difficult circumstances,鈥 the on social media. 鈥淥ur thoughts are with the Swedish, we hope everyone gets home safely.鈥
The suspect in the shooting was on Tuesday morning, Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said, and the weapon believed to have been used by the man has been recovered.
Swedish soccer officials said information about the shooting incident, which also led to another Swedish national getting seriously injured and taken to the hospital, reached them just before the match began and that Belgian authorities and police considered the game should be played because the stadium was viewed as the safest place for the visiting fans.
A decision was made to halt the match at halftime.
More than two hours after the game was suspended, a message flashed on the big stadium screen saying, 鈥淔ans, you can leave the stadium calmly.鈥 Stand after stand emptied onto streets filled with police as the search for the attacker continued.
鈥淔rustrated, confused, scared. I think everyone was quite scared,鈥 said Caroline Lochs, a fan from Antwerp.
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close told La Premiere radio that the game had not been regarded as a high-risk match.
鈥淲e were (alerted) to the context in the Middle East, but not to the burnt Qurans,鈥 Close said. 鈥淥bjectively speaking, we have to admit that.鈥
Belgium international player Thomas Meunier, who did not play on Monday, shared his thoughts after the match.
鈥淟et鈥檚 have a prayer for the victims and the people badly influenced by the wrong teaching of a religion. May God help them to find the right way," Meunier wrote on social media.
Sweden's under-18 team, currently in Slovakia, decided not to play the second of two international matches on Tuesday for security reasons.
鈥淭he U18 match in Slovakia would be played in an open facility where the same level of control is not possible. Therefore, it feels like an easy decision to forgo that match today,鈥 the Swedish soccer federation said.
An under-21 qualifying match for the European Championship in Georgia will, however, be played, the federation said.
鈥淭he U21 match in Georgia has an extensive security apparatus around the match and an appointed UEFA delegate,鈥 the federation said. 鈥淪ince yesterday鈥檚 events in Brussels, the hosts in Georgia have taken additional security-enhancing measures, which makes us feel safe with the situation there.鈥
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Douglas reported from Sundsvall, Sweden.
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Associated Press writers Sylvain Plazy, Raf Casert, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.
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