Theresa May handed Belgium football shirt by counterpart in Brussels ahead of crunch World Cup tie
Belgium struck early against England today as Theresa May let her defences down at the European Council summit.
The Prime Minister was ambushed by her Belgian counterpart Charles Michel as he handed her a Belgium football shirt just hours before the two countries meet in the World Cup.
Mrs May looked taken aback as Mr Michel pulled the bright red garment out of a presentation box, but laughed as he held it up and she realised what it was.
The shirt had the Number 10 on it - Mrs May’s address in Downing Street - but it also had the word “hazard” on the back as it is the shirt worn by midfielder Eden Hazard, though it could also be interpreted as a hidden warning of what lies ahead in the talks.
Mr Michel enlisted the French president Emmanuel Macron as an accomplice to carry out the carefully-planned stunt at the start of the two-day meeting in Brussels.
As the leaders mingled in the European Council meeting room, Mr Michel opened the box to show Mr Macron what was inside, prompting mischievous laughter from both men.
Mr Macron then went to find Mrs May and brought her over to Mr Michel, who opened the box with a flourish to surprise the Prime Minister.
Mrs May had failed to prepare a counter-attack, and looked a little embarrassed to have nothing to offer Mr Michel in return, such as an England shirt perhaps.
Having been presented with an open goal, Mr Michel soon made it 2-0 to Belgium as he gave football scarves to the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg - Mr Juncker’s home country - the three countries form the Benelux bloc, and with the Dutch and Luxembourg failing to qualify for the World Cup, Belgium will have plenty of local support tonight.
Mr Juncker put the scarf around his neck and held his fists aloft before putting the scarf around the neck of the Irish premier Leo Varadkar, who has been a constant thorn in the side of the UK during Brexit negotiations with the EU.
Moments earlier, Mr Varadkar and Mr Juncker had lectured Mrs May as they arrived for the summit, with Mr Varadkar saying Europe had 500 million citizens to Britain’s 60 million, meaning Britain would be a junior partner in future arrangements.
Mr Juncker said Mrs May “cannot go on…with a split Cabinet”.
