Dozens of people provoked riots this Sunday in the center of Brussels after the World Cup match between Qatar and Belgium against Morocco, destroying vehicles and street furniture, forcing the police to intervene.
The mayor of the city, Philippe Close, condemned the incidents and advised fans not to go to the center, according to a message on the social network Twitter.
"The police put all their means to maintain public order. I have ordered the police to proceed with administrative arrests of the rioters," he wrote.
The incidents began in the middle of the second half, when some 150 young people gathered in the center of the Belgian capital set fire to a container and launched firecrackers and fireworks, after which they began to beat the vehicles parked in the area, according to reports. Belgian public television RTBF.
The images broadcast by the local media show several fans destroying a car, some carrying the Moroccan flag, the winner of the match, as well as burning scooters.
"There has been the use of pyrotechnic material, the launching of projectiles, the use of sticks, a fire on public roads (...) the destruction of a traffic light and a vehicle with its occupant has been surrounded," the spokeswoman explained to the Belgian agency. of the central district police, Ilse Van de Keere, who added that a journalist has been injured in the incidents.
These riots have led to the intervention of a hundred policemen, who have used tear gas and two water cannons, and have asked citizens to avoid the center.
They have also forced the closure of several metro stations and the closure of some streets to circulation, as well as impacted public transport.
The police had carried out a wide deployment on the occasion of the match, which ended with a 2-0 in favor of the Moroccan team, since in 2017 there had been major riots after Morocco's qualification for the World Cup, which resulted in 22 wounded.
The riots this Sunday are limited to the center of the city, while in other parts of Brussels, where an important Moroccan community lives, the celebration is currently taking place without incident.
