Brussels, Europe Brief News – Belgian police detained a dozen people and made one arrest on Sunday after Morocco’s victory over Belgium in the World Cup match in Qatar triggered riots in Brussels.
Police had to seal off parts of the centre of Brussels, deploy water cannons and fire tear gas to disperse crowds.
Dozens of rioters overturned and torched a car, set electric scooters on fire and pelted cars with bricks. Police moved in after one person suffered facial injuries, said Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere.
Brussels mayor Philippe Close urged people to stay away from the city centre. He further said authorities were doing their utmost to keep order in the streets. Even subway and tram traffic had to be interrupted on police orders.
There were also disturbances in the city of Antwerp.
Le match Belgique-Maroc dérape complètement à #Bruxelles#BELMAR #Brusselspic.twitter.com/FnbJ8EBA8b
— Infos Bruxelles🇧🇪 (@Bruxelles_City) November 27, 2022
Police in the neighbouring Netherlands said violence erupted in the port city of Rotterdam, with riot officers attempting to break up a group of 500 soccer supporters who pelted police with fireworks and glass.
Media reported unrest in the capital Amsterdam and The Hague.
Moroccans represent the largest non-European immigrant population in Belgium, and the majority are descendants of a wave of immigration wave following a 1964 guest-worker agreement.
