Man United defender Victor Lindelof left ‘shocked and devastated’ after two Sweden fans shot dead in Brussels terrorist attack as he pays tribute to the victims in Instagram post

• Two Swedish supporters were shot dead ahead of their match with Belgium
• Police shot dead the culprit in a café following an overnight manhunt in Brussels
• Lindelof sent condolences to the victims in an Instagram post on Tuesday  

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof has been left ‘shocked and devastated’ by the deaths of two Swedish supporters in a terrorist attack in Brussels.

The Sweden international posted an Instagram tribute after two fans were shot dead and a third was injured on Monday ahead of the team’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium.

Police shot dead the gunman – a 45-year-old Tunisian national named by Belgian media as Abdesalem L – in a café in the Schaerbeek area of the city on Tuesday morning.

700 Swedish fans, plus players and coaching staff were locked inside the King Baudouin Stadium until 4am with the suspect, who’d deliberately targeted Swedes in what he described as a ‘revenge attack’ for the killing of a six-year-old US-Palestinian boy.

Lindelof, 29, started the qualifier, which was level at 1-1 when the game was abandoned at half-time. 

Sweden and Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof said he was left ‘shocked and devastated’ by the deaths of two Swedish fans following a terror attack in Brussels

Lindelof sent his condolences to the families of the victims in an Instagram post on Tuesday

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyfyT00MFL6/

A post shared by Victor Lindelöf (@victorlindelof)

Your browser does not support iframes.

Lindelof said afterwards there was ‘no reason to finish the match’ given Belgium have already qualified for Euro 2024 and Sweden cannot mathematically do so.

He took to his Instagram account on Tuesday, posting a picture of the travelling Swedish fans inside the stadium.

Lindelof wrote: ‘I’m shocked and devastated by the terrible incidents in Brussels with the cold-hearted attacks on our fellow Swedes.

‘I’m lost for words for the cruelty and inhumanity, I want to send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected.

‘At the same time, my thoughts go out to all the supporters in Belgium last night, no one should ever go to a game of football and feel unsafe when supporting their team.’

The Swedish team headed home after being held back in the stadium until well into the early hours, with Lindelof heading back to his wife Maja and two children in Manchester.

Maja wrote on her Instagram account alongside a picture of her husband: ‘There are no words. My thoughts go out to all those affected yesterday. To the victims and their families. To all Swedish fans. To Sweden.’

She added: ‘And I just want you home now.’ 

Lindelof’s wife Maja posted ‘I just want you home now’ in an Instagram post on Tuesday

Terrified Belgian and Swedish supporters were locked inside the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Monday after two fans were shot dead. The match was abandoned at half-time

The shooting took place in  Boulevard d’Ypres – approximately three miles from the stadium

Police arrived at the site of the shooting incident while the match was underway in Brussels

A map shows the location of the killing in Brussels city centre and that of the King Baudouin Stadium in the city’s northwestern suburbs – 35,000 supporters were in attendance

Belgian FA CEO Manu Leroy revealed news of the attack filtered through before the game, but the Euro 2024 qualifier was allowed to kick-off after police and security services were consulted.

The shooting took place on Boulevard d’Ypres, three miles from the stadium, and sparked an overnight manhunt as the terror threat for the city was raised to its maximum level.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the motive behind the attack was that the victims were Swedish. 

‘The perpetrator targeted specifically Swedish supporters who were in Brussels to attend the match against Belgium,’ he said.

‘Two Swedish fans have passed away. A third person is recovering from severe injures.’ 

Distraught Sweden fans inside the King Baudouin Stadium during the traumatic evening

The Euro 2024 qualifier in Brussels was abandoned at half-time on Monday night

Concerned supporters embraced each other during the terrifying experience as Belgian authorities locked all fans inside the stadium for their own safety in the aftermath of the attack

De Croo added the attack was carried out by someone who wanted to create ‘fear and division in our free society’. However, he warned that ‘terrorists must understand that they will never succeed. 

‘Terrorism will never defeat us and we fight this fight together with our Swedish friends.’

The Belgian premier added security in Brussels had been increased and will be strengthened in places connected to Swedish citizens.  

A video posted online featured a fluorescent-jacketed man claiming a link to Islamic State saying in Arabic that he had carried out a ‘revenge attack’.

In it, he boasted that he had killed ‘infidels’ while earlier in the day he had posted on Facebook referring to the stabbing in the US of a Palestinian boy, by his mother’s landlord.

Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told the news conference the suspect was a 45-year-old Tunisian man who sought asylum in Belgium in November 2019 and was known to police over people smuggling and illegal residence in Belgium.

Amid distressing scenes, UEFA released a statement confirming the cancellation, which happened at half-time during the clash at the King Baudouin Stadium. Swedish fans were asked to stay in the ground for their own safety. 

It 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.’ 

Source: Read Full Article