Football World Cup: Riots erupt in Brussels as Belgium slip to shock loss against Morocco

Belgian police detained a dozen people and made one arrest after Morocco's victory over Belgium at the Football World Cup in Qatar triggered riots in Brussels with a car and electric scooters set on fire.

The riots took place in several places across the Belgian capital where dozens of football fans, some draped in Moroccan flags, clashed with riot police with water cannons and tear gas.

"Around 7pm calm returned and preventive patrols remain in place in the sectors concerned," police spokesperson Ilse Van de Keere said.

"The rioters used pyrotechnic material, projectiles, sticks, and set fire on the public highway," the police said. "Also, a journalist was injured in the face by fireworks. It is for these reasons that it was decided to proceed with a police intervention, with the deployment of water cannon and the use of tear gas," the police said.

Reuters