Photo: Twitter / Sahara Reporters
Sport events can generate some pretty divisive reactions, but this isn’t that. Football hooliganism has been a problem for decades, and it continues to be so: an upset win at the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 has sparked a series of spontaneous riots throughout Europe.
On Sunday, at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar, Belgium faced Morocco in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and came out losing 0 to 2. In the hours following the upset win, Morocco supporters in major European cities, including in the Belgium capital Brussels, took to the streets in what authorities describe as spontaneous riots.
In the Brussels city center, cars were flipped and set ablaze, as were rental electric scooters. Shops and parked cars were broken into, even as the riot police responded with water canons. The rioting continued well into the night, with police unable to control the crowds, and thus forced to limit themselves to contain only the area of the rioting.
The Brussels mayor, Philippe Close, issued a plea to other football supporters to stay clear of the area, as arrests were being made. At least one person was injured critically, and several vehicles were torched, with more damaged by the hooligans who threw bricks and firecrackers.
The rioting spread to other European cities as well, as the videos available at the bottom of the page will show.
The New York Times informs that violent outbursts and widespread damage are also being reported in The Netherlands, in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. Here too, the rioting seems to have been started by Morocco supporters, as a “celebration” of their team’s win over Belgium, and that also involved damage to parked vehicles and rental fleets, albeit on a much smaller scale.
The Belgium police reports that some 10 arrests were made on the spot, but given the kind of damage done, more are expected to follow in the coming days.
In the Brussels city center, cars were flipped and set ablaze, as were rental electric scooters. Shops and parked cars were broken into, even as the riot police responded with water canons. The rioting continued well into the night, with police unable to control the crowds, and thus forced to limit themselves to contain only the area of the rioting.
The Brussels mayor, Philippe Close, issued a plea to other football supporters to stay clear of the area, as arrests were being made. At least one person was injured critically, and several vehicles were torched, with more damaged by the hooligans who threw bricks and firecrackers.
The rioting spread to other European cities as well, as the videos available at the bottom of the page will show.
The New York Times informs that violent outbursts and widespread damage are also being reported in The Netherlands, in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. Here too, the rioting seems to have been started by Morocco supporters, as a “celebration” of their team’s win over Belgium, and that also involved damage to parked vehicles and rental fleets, albeit on a much smaller scale.
The Belgium police reports that some 10 arrests were made on the spot, but given the kind of damage done, more are expected to follow in the coming days.
The center of Brussels is on fire after the match. ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/D0zznXZ00d
— Yassin Akouh (@Yassin_Akouh) November 27, 2022
Ik heb hun ook gevraagd om over te gaan tot administratieve arrestaties van de relschoppers. (2/2)
— Philippe Close (@PhilippeClose) November 27, 2022
Belgium ???????? ????????
— Suzanne Seddon (@suzseddon) November 27, 2022
Towns And Cities Are Now Being Destroyed And Smashed Up Across Brussels As Riots By Non Natives Escalate Into The Night. pic.twitter.com/q3gA8SiWKu
The riots by Moroccan fans have spread from Brussels to Amsterdam tonight.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 27, 2022
Morocco won against Belgium 2-0 at the World Cup a few hours ago.
???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/h4Z3JhHX7h
Riots break out in Brussels, Belgium following their loss to Morocco ???? pic.twitter.com/hdox5w4h84
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 27, 2022
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