The BBC are among those reporting that 45-year-old Abdesalem Lassoued was apprehended and shot by police forces at a cafe in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood.

Panicked fans were reportedly locked inside the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels until 4am following the shooting of two Swedish supporters on Monday evening.

The match taking place between Belgium and Sweden was abandoned at half-time as those inside the venue were made aware of the unfortunate events that had taken place in Brussels city centre prior to the game getting underway.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has claimed that the victims of the attack were targeted due to their nationality.

He said: “The perpetrator targeted specifically Swedish supporters who were in Brussels to attend the match against Belgium.

“Two Swedish fans have passed away. A third person is recovering from severe injures.”

According to the Daily Mail, those in attendance at the King Baudouin Stadium were contained through to the early hours of Tuesday morning as investigations into exactly what went on and why were opened.

Reims manager Will Still – who was born in Belgium to English parents – was among those inside the ground when it was locked down.

He told BFMTV while being advised not to head back out onto the streets: “We are still locked in the stadium, with no exit allowed. It’s a bit of a blur for everyone.”

Players and match officials were also held inside the ground, with Manchester United and Sweden defender Victor Lindelof supporting the decision to only allow spectators to leave once armed police were on hand to escort them through the doors.

He said: “Our security team handled it well and put us at ease.

“Belgium are already qualified and we don’t have the opportunity to get to the European Championship, so I see no reason to play.”

Sweden head coach Janne Andersson revealed that he and his players had asked for the match to be abandoned, saying: “When I came down for the break, I got this information. Immediately, I felt that it was completely unreal. What kind of world do we live in today?

“I came into the locker room and when the team started talking, we agreed 100 per cent that we didn’t want to play on out of respect for the victims and their families.”

Goal