‘’A liberal democracy no longer able to welcome a democratic country? Even the worst dictatorships don’t suffer this humiliation,” wrote Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the French-speaking MR political party, on X.

The announcement by the City of Brussels that it considers it ”impossible” to hold the Belgium-Israel Nations League match in Brussels has caused quite a stir in the country.

The UEFA Nations League match between the Israeli national team and Belgium’s “Red Devils” was scheduled to take place on September 6 at the King Baudouin Stadium.

But the city  announced Wednesday that it considered it “impossible” to hold the match at the King Baudouin Stadium ‘’due to the risk of major demonstrations and counter-demonstrations at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is causing tension in the country, particularly in the capital.’’

Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the Mouvement Reformateur (MR-Liberal), the main politicial party in French-speaking Belgium, deplored the city’s decision, urging the mayor of Brussels to hold the match to be held in the city.

On Wednesday, the president of the MR party urged the mayor of Brussels to allow the Belgium-Israel match to be held in his municipality. “Our capital is no longer even capable of hosting the Israeli team. Can you imagine what this means for our democracy?,’’ he said.

‘’A liberal democracy no longer able to welcome a democratic country? Even the worst dictatorships don’t suffer this humiliation. Who can still deny that there is a serious and grave problem in Belgium? We are asking the Mayor of Brussels to assume his responsibilities by authorizing the organization of this match”, declared Bouchez, whose party won the recent federal elections, on X.

The Belgian Football Union (URBSFA) regretted the city of Brussels’ decision. “We understand and share the concern about the situation in Israel and Palestine and the consequences for security. We knew that the match against Israel would probably be played without an audience, and we accepted this. Safety always comes first”, reacted the URBSFA.’’

It added, “We really regret the decision of the City of Brussels, which has a lot of experience in organizing major events, not to organize the match in our home port. We are looking for a solution that will enable us to play the match against Israel at home. We are in contact with several cities and municipalities and security services