May 16 – A suspicious package that led to the evacuation of Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium on Sunday and the postponement of the club’s final Premier League game of the game ended up being a fake device accidentally left behind by a private firm after a training exercise.
An urgent inquiry has been demanded following a controlled explosion of the device and the rescheduling of the fixture against Bournemouth for Tuesday night, prolonging the Premier League season by an unexpected 48 hours.
The Premier League praised the way the incident was dealt with by the authorities but Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd called for a full inquiry into what he described as a “fiasco”.
Bomb disposal experts were called to the 75,000-seat stadium after the replica device was found in a toilet. Police used sniffer dogs to search the area before calling in an army bomb disposal unit which carried out a controlled explosion of the item they described as being “an incredibly realistic-looking explosive device”.
Kick-off was delayed initially and shortly afterwards, amidst intense security concerns over the ongoing threat of terrorism, the match was abandoned on police advice. Lloyd later called the situation “unacceptable” and demanded an inquiry to discover “how this happened, why it happened and who will be held accountable”.
United said they will refund all tickets and allow ticket holders from both clubs to watch Tuesday’s re-arranged game for free, while season ticket holders will also be given a credit, a gesture that is estimated will cost the club around £3 million.
The rescheduled game will have little bearing on the outcome of the league season for United who can climb to fifth but have failed to qualify the Champions League, throwing into question the future of manager Louis van Gaal regardless of whether United beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
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