Belgium-Spain match cancelled due to heightened terrorist threat
Tuesday’s friendly match between Belgium and Spain has been cancelled due to an increased terrorist threat.
There were safety fears about the match following the Paris terror attacks which killed 129 people, with arrests made in Belgium.
And the Belgium team’s official twitter account confirmed the contest would not take place with a tweet which read: “Our match against Spain has been cancelled.”
Notre match amical contre l'Espagne à été annulé. Plus d'infos via https://t.co/S6wa5lSk7s #belspa
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) November 16, 2015
A statement on the Belgian Football Association website gave more detail about the cancellation of the match, which was due to take place at Brussels' Stade Roi Baudouin.
It read: “In consultation with the competent authorities and the Spanish national team, the Belgian FA has decided to cancel the match.
“At the very end of the evening the Belgian FA was contacted by the government, who made the recommendation not to play tomorrow’s match. This is because the terror alert level is high and with the current leakage of a suspicious person.
“We deeply regret that such a friendly match between two motivated teams has been cancelled so late and we understand the disappointment of many supporters.
“However, taking into account the exceptional circumstances, we cannot take any security risk with players and fans.
“Ticket holders will get more information about tickets in the course of this week.”
The Stade de France was targeted as part of Friday’s Paris attacks, with three people killed outside the ground as the home side played an international against Germany.
However, France’s match against England at Wembley on Tuesday will go ahead.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque held an impromptu press conference from the national team's plane following the cancellation of the friendly between the reigning European champions against the world's top-ranked team.
He said: “We don’t know for sure the reasons why it’s been called off, but we’ve assumed.
“We were hoping to play the game, it was the last of the year, but the security reasons were strong.
“It’s not to be and the best thing is to return to Madrid as soon as possible and for the players to go back to their clubs.”
He added of their short stay in Belgium: “We weren’t scared. We were calm in the hotel, there wasn’t any problem.
“We trained with tranquillity, we’ve prepared for the game like any other, but the authorities will have felt they couldn’t guarantee the security of everybody, the players and spectators.
“Hopefully there won’t be any more suspensions. We’re here to play sport and entertain people.”
Friday’s terror attacks in Paris led to concerns about security for next summer’s Euro 2016, which are to be held in France, but Del Bosque hopes the tournament goes ahead as scheduled.
He added: “Hopefully the European Championships will be held in France and in complete normality.”
