The terrorist attack in Brussels still shocks Swedes – strict security instructions are in place both in Tampere and in Azerbaijan

The Swedish national ice hockey team avoids the use of national emblems in the EHT tournament in Tampere. In football, too, special attention has been paid to security measures.

The terrorist act that happened in Brussels last month has increased security measures on the trips of the Swedish national sports teams. Two people wearing Swedish national team shirts were shot in October before the European Championship qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden.

Sweden will continue the men’s European Championship qualification next week in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. Contrary to normal, the name of the hotel used by the team is not disclosed to the public.

Sweden’s head coach Jan Andersson said after the events in Brussels, not to wear Swedish national team clothes in public anymore. He said on Wednesday that he himself had walked in the national team’s clothes on the streets of Brussels just hours before the match.

The country’s football association has not set dress code for the team for the upcoming match.

– When we are in secure facilities, such as a hotel, training sessions or a stadium, we can live normally. If we feel unsafe outside of these, we may choose to dress in civilian clothes, the security manager of the Swedish Federation Stefan Dejemyr said For Expressen.

Such instructions have been given to the Swedish national ice hockey team instead. Sweden will play in the EHT tournament in Tampere this weekend. The team travels in Finland without national team clothes, as do the women’s national team in their tournament in Switzerland and the junior national teams in Switzerland and Canada.

– When we travel abroad, we are civilians. This applies to all our national teams. Representative clothes can only be worn on the bus and in the hotel, the security manager of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation Abbe Törsleff said For Expressen.

According to Törsleff, everything referring to Sweden will also be removed from the buses used by the teams.

The threat level of terrorism in Sweden was recently raised to four on a five-point scale. Security measures around national ice hockey teams have also been increased in many other ways.

– It’s about things we don’t talk about openly. We are in close contact with the police, Törsleff stated.

On Thursday, Sweden played its first match of the Tampere tournament on its home field in Växjö. The match was almost sold out, and security measures around it were also increased. For example, the Swedish police have banned all bags from being brought to large events.