Bomb gaffe as item at centre of Old Trafford terrorist scare found to be training device
The suspicious item which sparked fears of a terrorist attack and forced the cancellation of Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth has been identified as a training device mistakenly left behind by a private company.
Old Trafford was evacuated 20 minutes prior to kick-off, while army bomb disposal experts later carried out a controlled explosion on a package, believed to be a mobile phone attached to a gas pipe.
Detailed examination revealed that the device, found by a member of the club’s staff in the north-west quadrant of the ground, was “incredibly lifelike” but ultimately not “viable”.
A Greater Manchester Police statement later read: “Following today’s controlled explosion, we have since found out that the item was a training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.”
The Premier League earlier confirmed that the fixture has been rearranged for Tuesday night, kick-off 8pm, four days before Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley between United and Crystal Palace.
Sunday’s clash would have been potentially pivotal in United’s bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League, although Manchester City’s draw at Swansea all but secured a top-four finish for Manuel Pellegrini’s outfit in the Chilean’s final match in charge.
A deflected Andre Ayew free-kick on the stroke of half-time cancelled out teenage striker Kelechi Iheanacho’s early opener, which means United will need to beat Bournemouth 19-0 in their rearranged match to snatch fourth place.
West Ham, meanwhile, face an anxious wait to see if they will be playing Europa League football during their maiden season at their new home, the Olympic Stadium, after suffering a 2-1 defeat at Stoke.
Slaven Bilic’s side opened the scoring midway through the first-half through Michail Antonio, only for Stoke to stage a second-half fightback with goals from midfielder Giannelli Imbula and substitute Mame Biram Diouf.
That loss, coupled with Southampton’s 4-1 thrashing of Palace, saw the Saints leapfrog West Ham and Manchester United into sixth. West Ham are now reliant on United beating Palace in the FA Cup final in order to qualify for the Europa League.