The final day of the Premier League season always features every match kicking off at the same time. That was the same this year with one exception: the match between Manchester United and A.F.C. Bournemouth. In fact, the match didn’t start at all. The showdown – which didn’t mean much for Bournemouth, but meant a lot for United prior to the start of today’s slate – was abandoned due to the discovery of a suspicious package at Old Trafford.
An announcement was made shortly before the match was set to begin that stated portions of the stadium needed to be emptied. It was later announced that a cell phone connected to some wires was found in a toilet, which someone deemed suspicious.
Text.
Package was a phone attached to pipe with wires hanging from it”. Found by customer in toilet.
From guy who found it.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) May 15, 2016
The players eventually got the chance to leave the grounds with the help of a police escort, while a bomb squad showed up to the stadium in an attempt to conduct a controlled demolition of the suspicious object. According to the Twitter feed of the Greater Manchester Police, bomb disposal experts successfully conducted the controlled action.
Latest update: A controlled explosion has just been carried out within the stadium by bomb disposal experts at Old Trafford. More to follow.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 15, 2016
There is no word on when (or whether) the match will be rescheduled. Due to Manchester City’s win today, Manchester United would need to beat Bournemouth by 12 goals in order to qualify for next year’s Champions League. If they don’t play the match, United will participate in the Europa League in 2016-17.
(via Deadspin)
