New Delhi: Belgian Police detained at least ten people in Brussels, where riots erupted after Morocco beat Belgium 2-0 at the World Cup in Qatar, the Belgium-based RTBF broadcaster reports. Several people set trash containers on fire and threw bricks at vehicles in the center of Brussels on Sunday after Belgium's loss. Media reports said police used water cannons and tear gas and that there were casualties.
The Belgium-based broadcaster said that about ten administrative arrests and one judicial arrest were made amid the riots. Meanwhile, Le Soir said that about ten arrests were made in the port city of Antwerp on Sunday. Transport disruptions were reported in Belgium amid the Sunday riots.
Earlier on Sunday, the police detained a dozen people and made one arrest after the riots in which a car and some electric scooters were set on fire. Morocco's victory on over Belgium on Sunday in the World Cup match in Qatar triggered riots in Brussels with a car and some electric scooters set on fire, as reported by the news agency Reuters. The riots took place in several places across the Belgian capital where dozens of soccer fans, some draped in Moroccan flags, clashed with riot police with water cannons and tear gas.
"Around 7 p.m. calm returned and preventive patrols remain in place in the sectors concerned," police spokesperson Ilse Van de Keere was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"The rioters used pyrotechnic material, projectiles, sticks, and set fire on the public highway," the police said. "Also, a journalist was injured in the face by fireworks. It is for these reasons that it was decided to proceed with police intervention, with the deployment of water cannon and the use of tear gas," the police said.
With a goal each from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal, Morocco on Sunday stunned world number 2 Belgium in a 2-0 victory in their Group F match in the Fifa World Cup 2022. The Romain Saïss-led side secured a lead in the 73rd minute as Sabiri put one past Belgium's Thibaut Courtois. But the clincher came from Aboukhlal as he sent the ball into Belgium's net in additional time (90+2) at Qatar's Al Thumama stadium.
Morocco is the 22nd number team in the FIFA rankings and their victory against the European team is historic. First, Sabiri scored a brilliant free-kick to give Morocco the lead, then Aboukhlal doubled the lead by scoring another in extra time of the second half.
There were many attempts from both teams in the first half but the first score of the match came in the second half. A few minutes before half-time, Morocco's opening goal was canceled by VAR for offside.
Abdelhamid Sabiri scored a brilliant goal on a free-kick in the 73rd minute to give Morocco the lead, after which Zakaria Aboukhlal doubled the lead by scoring another in the extra time of the second half. With this win, Morocco has replaced Belgium at the top of the Group F table, while the losing team has slipped to second place.
(With Reuters Inputs)