Paris Attacks: Belgium cancel Spain friendly due to security concerns

Following last friday's attacks at the Stade de France during the international friendly between France and Germany which left more than 120 people dead, The Belgian and Spanish football federations have cancelled the international friendly between their two teams which was scheduled to be played at the Stade Roi Baudouin over security concerns. The mastermind of the attacks has been traced to Belgium.

"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," The Royal Belgian Football Association ( RBFA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque who held an impromptu press conference from the national team’s plane following the cancellation of the game 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.

“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. We weren’t scared. We were calm in the hotel, there wasn’t any problem. Hopefully there won’t be any more suspensions. We’re here to play sport and entertain people.”