“What a rotten world we live in”

Sweden’s European Championship qualifier against Belgium was interrupted at halftime.
Then Bojan Djordjic spoke with tears in his throat.
– What a rotten world we live in. It’s a rotten, horrible world, he says in Viaplay.

It was before Sweden’s EC qualifying match against Belgium away that two Swedes, according to reports wearing Swedish match shirts, were shot to death in central Brussels. Despite that, the match was played as usual, and according to national team captain Janne Andersson, he and the other leaders did not receive the news about the shootings until half-time. When Viaplay started broadcasting its halftime studio, there were still big question marks as to whether there would be a second half.

Bojan’s words straight from the heart

After a while, Belgian substitutes started to come out to the pitch to warm up, but there were no Swedish ones to be seen. It took a long time before any official announcement came, and according to Belgian police, the first half continued as planned for the safety of the Swedish supporters. It was believed, quite simply, that it was safer for the supporters to be inside the stands than out in the city, especially as the perpetrator was still at large in Brussels.

For Viaplay’s experts who were on site in Brussels, it was difficult to put the feeling into words, and after a long silence, Bojan Djordjic finally spoke, with tears in his throat.

– I have tears in my throat. We’re going to talk about a game… I love this game, this life, it means everything and so much more. But two of our compatriots have been murdered in cold blood on the streets of Brussels and we will play for another 45 minutes…, he said in the broadcast.

“Rotten world we live in”

Bojan Djordjic also said that for him it was completely unthinkable that the match would be played on, and that he would see to it that it was stopped on his own if it had been started. But there was never a second half.

– It is a darkness. It’s not just our society. Everything has been lost. It’s crying in the throat. It is crying in the throat for human values ​​that must be prioritized, says Bojan Djordjic further in the broadcast.

– Damn what a rotten world we live in. It’s a rotten, horrible world with people who don’t deserve to live on this planet. I suffer with the relatives. Take care out there. Hate begets hate and hate must go.

Shortly after, Viaplay broke its broadcast, then with reference to Belgian police.

– They have asked us to evacuate this television area and the area where all our technical staff are located. This means that we are forced to shut down this broadcast now, says presenter Jennifer Kücükaslan.