Belgian Official Quits to Protest Soccer Dispute

BRUSSELS —  Deputy Premier Jean Gol resigned today to protest the interior minister’s refusal to step down after the Brussels soccer stadium riot in which 38 people were killed.

Five other cabinet members of Gol’s Conservative Party said they would follow him. The surprise move put in question the future of Prime Minister Wilfried Martens’ four-party coalition government.

Gol, 43, offered a letter containing his resignation to Martens, who passed it on to King Baudouin.

Follows Soccer Tragedy Debate

The move by Gol, one of three deputy prime ministers, came two days after a parliamentary debate on the government’s handling of the May 29 riot at a European Cup soccer final in Brussels. Gol and other members of his party called for Interior Minister Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb, who is in charge of all police forces, to resign.

Nothomb, also a deputy premier, refused to quit and Martens won a 109-3 vote of confidence in Parliament. Most opposition members walked out before the vote.

In a report issued a week ago, a bipartisan committee charged police with failure to prevent the violence, in which British fans attacked Italian rivals at the European Champions’ Cup final between Liverpool, England, and Juventus of Turin, Italy.

Most conservatives wanted Nothomb to resign but Martens supported him, saying: “No political error can be blamed on the interior minister or any other government member.”