Wales vs Belgium: Belgian fans give guard of honour to travelling Welsh supporters

Some Belgians simply felt that they had to pay tribute to Wales' stunning victory

Some of the lucky Wales supporters who made it to France (Getty)

This summer’s European Championship will, no matter what is still to come on the pitch, be partly remembered for events off it.

The opening weeks of the tournament were defined by fan trouble, not least those highly-charged scenes in Marseille before and after England’s clash with Russia.

However, as the games have gone by, those issues have started to ebb away and, almost every day, there are new stories of how supporters from different countries are coming together and sharing in the joy of international tournament football.

Such bonhomie was on display in Lille on Friday night when, after Wales produced their greatest-ever display to beat Belgium 3-1 in the quarter-finals, both sets of supporters came together to celebrate.

Despite having seen their team convincingly beaten and denied a semi-final spot, Belgium fans at Gare de Lille Europe, the town’s train station, felt it was necessary to pay tribute to their opponents with a guard of honour.

As Welsh fans streamed through the station crying their ‘Don’t Take Me Home’ chant, crestfallen Belgians lined alongside them and applauded them through. Some even joined in with the singing.

Video footage of the tribute has been shared widely on social media and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, which many hailing the mutual respect on show between the two sets of supporters.