Belgium And Sweden Will NOT Replay Abandoned Game As UEFA Confirms Half-Time Score Of 1-1 Now Stands As Final Result
The Euro 2024 qualifier between Belgium and Sweden that was abandoned at half-time on Monday following a terrorist attack in Brussels will not be replayed.
Players from both sides decided not to play the second half on Monday after learning that two Swedish fans had been shot dead less than two hours before kick-off.
At this point, the killer had not yet been caught, so fans were then locked inside the King Baudouin Stadium for multiple hours as police worked on a plan to keep them safe.
The gunman was later shot and killed by police on Tuesday.
Monday's match had been level at 1-1 when it was abandoned.
A photo taken inside the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels after the Euro 2024 qualifier between Belgium and Sweden on Monday was abandoned at half-time due to an act of terrorism in the city that resulted in two Swedish fans being shot dead
IMAGO/Photo News/Peter De Voecht
It was initially unclear whether the game would be replayed or if it would restart from half-time at a later date.
But UEFA confirmed on Thursday that the match will not be continued or replayed. Instead, it will be officially recorded as a 1-1 draw.
Therefore, the goals scored by Romelu Lukaku and Viktor Gyokeres will count towards their international records, while the yellow card received by Mattias Svanberg will also stand.
Romelu Lukaku (right) scored his 80th international goal for Belgium before Monday's game was abandoned
IMAGO/ANP/Gerrit van Cologne
Thursday's statement from the European football governing body read: "The UEFA Executive Committee decided today that: The match is abandoned and the result at the half-time interval (1-1) is confirmed as final, each team is awarded one point with the Group F standings to be updated accordingly and any suspension is considered served and single yellow cards remain valid.
"To take the mentioned decision, the Executive Committee took note that it had proved impossible to play the remaining part of the match on the following day.
"Both the Royal Belgian Football Association and the Swedish Football Association, given the circumstances, explicitly expressed their desire not to play the remaining match time and to consider the result at the half-time interval (1-1) as final.
"The result of this match does not impact the qualification of Group F since Belgium is already mathematically qualified to the UEFA EURO 2024 final tournament (together with Austria) and Sweden is mathematically eliminated.
"The respective fixtures do not allow any date to be used in the upcoming November international window, when the preliminary group stage of the competition must be concluded, to be followed by the play-off draw and final tournament draw."
