The "racist violence" committed in Brussels by Club Brugge's far-right ultras during Sunday's Belgian Cup Final was widely condemned on Monday.
Brussels politicians, the Jupiler Pro League and local residents have spoken out out against the violence, amid growing calls for harsher stadium bans.
"It is clear that a number of hooligans used the Cup final as a pretext to commit acts of organised crime in Brussels," said the Jupiler Pro League.
City of Brussels Mayor Philippe Close (PS) told the Belga News Agency on Monday, that perpetrators should not have been allowed to attend the game. "Why were these racist supporters, who came to Brussels with the intention of beating up fathers, mothers and destroying shops, allowed to travel?"
What happened
Videos, widely circulated on social media before the start of the Belgian Cup final between Club Brugge and Anderlecht, showed groups of Bruges fans fighting against locals in Molenbeek.
On their way to the Roi Baudouin stadium, Bruges supporters damaged the Metro train, putting it out of service. The fans were then told to disembark and wait for a new vehicle at Sainte-Catherine.
Police pictured at an Anderlecht supporters village at the Atomium, before the final of the 'Croky Cup' Belgian soccer cup, between Club Brugge and RSC Anderlecht, Sunday 04 May 2025. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Instead, a group decided to walk to Heysel, crossing into residential areas in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Jette – without a police escort.
Passing through the Maritime District in Molenbeek, the Bruges supporters smashed shop windows, attacked people, intimidated and spat at passers-by, the Belga News Agency reports.
'We're going to kill you'
One of the shops attacked by around 50 individuals was the Ben Carrelage, a hardware store on Rue Vandertichelen in Molenbeek.
The owner's son, present at the scene, spoke to RTBF. "My father, seeing them coming, wanted to avoid trouble. He wanted to close the shutters before they entered the store. But unfortunately, they didn't miss him."
Seeing his father being attacked, the young man decided to intervene, even if he was also beaten up. "I wanted to protect my 72-year-old father," said the man to RTBF, still visibly shaken, with cuts on his face and a black eye.
🇧🇪 🚨 BRUXELLES : AFFRONTEMENTS VIOLENTS !
Scènes de chaos à Bruxelles : des HOOLIGANS du FC Bruges s'affrontent violemment avec des individus de Molenbeek. Des heurts ont éclaté, semant le trouble dans la capitale belge. La police est intervenue pour rétablir l'ordre. Source… pic.twitter.com/QwCG2JNKpu — VoxActu (@VoxActu_off) May 5, 2025
"I rushed into the crowd without thinking and they attacked me, punching and kicking me and hitting me with gas canisters sold by the store and placed at the entrance. They threw them at my head. I managed to hide in the office. Luckily, otherwise I think I would have lost my life," the son stated.
During the attack, his father fell on his head and now has a huge gash in his skull. He had just undergone surgery two weeks before. "They were saying, We're going to kill you, this will be your last day. Harsh words, pure racism. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do."
'Stadium ban'
The mayors of the City of Brussels, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Jette condemned Monday with firmness the abuses committed the day before in their respective municipalities, underlining the the racist nature of the events.
City of Brussels Mayor Philippe Close called for a lifetime stadium ban and severe legal sanctions for Club Brugge's "racist football fans" who took part in the violence.
Riot police and footballs fans pictured at the final of the 'Croky Cup' Belgian soccer cup, between Club Brugge and RSC Anderlecht, Sunday 04 May 2025. Credit: Belga
For Close, the main question is "why these racist supporters, who came to Brussels with the intention of beating up fathers, mothers and destroying shops, were allowed to travel," he told the Belga News Agency.
"These supporters should be banned from the stadium for life and severe legal proceedings should be initiated."
According to Close, the lack of unity among the perpetrators is mainly due to the fact that the match took place on the territory of the City of Brussels.
Close added that, being a cup final played at a neutral ground, it was clear that this was a high-risk match. "In this case, we had 20,000 supporters on each side with tensions between the two clubs. That is a completely different context from a regular league match between Bruges and Anderlecht."
Riot police pictured outside the stadium at the final of the 'Croky Cup' Belgian soccer cup, between Club Brugge and RSC Anderlecht, Sunday 04 May 2025. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Close said that the vast majority of the violence took place before the match, and at that time he was sitting with all the security and emergency services, in constant consultation with my colleague from Molenbeek.
"The police acted quickly, isolating the hard core of Club Brugge supporters, and when we gave the order to intervene, everything was under control within minutes," Close stated. However, it remains unclear why the police did not escort the fans.
Brussels youths
On Monday, the police confirmed it had arrested 63 people in Brussels on Sunday following violence after the Belgian Cup final. They confirmed that the violence continued into night. Some online videos also showed Molenbeek youths fighting back during the day.
"After the cup final, the police had to intervene until late into the night to break up fights between Brussels youths and Brugge supporters," police said on Monday, confirming these were triggered by earlier incidents involving the Club Brugge supporters in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Jette.
A football fan suffered a gunshot wound, the Brussels prosecutor’s office confirmed on Monday.
"A Club Brugge supporter was shot in the ankle following gunfire around 21:15 on Sunday at the Brussels-Midi station," spokesperson Willemien Baert announced. "The suspect managed to flee."
According to the Ministry of Health, 80 people had to be treated by emergency services, nine were taken to hospital.
Several incidents broke out in different areas of Brussels, including near the Central Station, on Avenue Houba de Strooperm, where police had to intervene after the arrival of Bruges fans into the Belgian capital.
The Brussels public transport operator STIB also confirmed that two of its trains had been damaged.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge have issued yet another condemnation of its supporters' actions. "We will cooperate with the police to identify those involved. Football must not be used as a cover for violence under any circumstances," the club told the Belga News Agency on Monday.
