Denmark star inches from death after flat set on fire and called "Judas b*****d"

Denmark face a must-win match in their clash with Russia on Monday evening, should they want to qualify for the knockout rounds of Euro 2020.

They will be eager to please their passionate set of fans when they enter the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen for what could be their final match of the festival of football.

However, for one Danish footballer, Jens Stage, he saw the dark side of football when he completed a transfer from his local side, AGF, to Denmark's biggest side: FC Copenhagen.

It's been almost two years since the terrifying incident that almost cost the young footballer his life.

FC Copenhagen paid AGF £2.2million for the services of the Danish U21 international in 2019, and within days of completing the move: Stage was targeted with online abuse.

"You will never be in Aarhus again – Judas," read one of the messages the young hopeful received via his Facebook.

Stage noticed the messages, but he got on with his life; after all, he had just completed his dream move.

However, that all changed in the early hours of July 14 – when his flat, in the Danish capital, was set ablaze.

Can Denmark qualify for the knockout stages of the Euros? Let us know in the comments section

There were two people in the flat at the time, who had to escape out of a window, but Danish police didn't specify if Stage was one of the two presents] at the time.

One of the smoke bombs, found at the scene, was inscribed with the message: "In Aarhus, traitors are punished, you Judas b******."

“It’s an act of extreme violence that we condemn in the strongest possible ways," said Mads Øland, who was the CEO of the Danish Football Players' Association.

"If it turns out to be football related – as it seems to be – it is horrible beyond all comprehension that anybody can commit such an act."

"This is a very old building so it’s lucky it didn’t spread more," a neighbour of Stage’s, told the Danish newspaper, Ekstra Bladet.

“It is horrible to think about what could have happened."

AGF were quick to condemn the incident, and FC Copenhagen followed suit.

Stage remains a first-team regular at Copenhagen, however, he missed out on the Euro 2020 squad – mainly due to the strength of the Danish backline.

Don't miss a thing with our football updates!

Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?

Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!

From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.

How do you sign up?

It only takes a matter of seconds.

Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.

And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.

You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.

However, Stage has put the incident behind him and he has found relative success in the Danish capital with European caps, but a national team call-up still eludes him.

Denmark face Russia on Monday evening in their final group stage clash.

Source: Read Full Article