Police at HDI-Arena
 

A soccer match between Germany and Netherlands was cancelled Tuesday after police received information of a possible bombing at the stadium in Hannover, Germany. No arrests have been made.

"We had concrete evidence that someone wanted to set off an explosive device in the stadium," Hannover police chief Volker Kluwe told German TV.

After canceling the game, police evacuated fans, asking them to calmly exit the stadium. News reports have said that fans seemed disappointed but understanding of the safety concerns, given the attacks in Paris just days earlier.

Hannover, Germany's mayor, Stefan Schostok, told German newspaper Bild that the decision to cancel and evacuate was an easy one: "Safety is paramount. This is a fear you will always have. I trust the police have made the right decision.

"If a threat situation exists, then those steps must be taken."

Early reports suggested that an explosive device had been found inside the stadium. Authorities later said that was incorrect.


Police did not go into specifics about what type of additional attacks, if any, were planned in or around the stadium, but a series of precautionary measures were taken, including the evacuation of a nearby concert venue.

Train service to the stadium was also shut down.


Departing fans were also told by police to walk home "in small groups" rather than in a large cluster, supporting the notion that police remained worried about an attempted attack on a large group of people, bomb or otherwise.


This is the second international soccer game to be cancelled since the initial attacks in Paris. A match between Spain and Belgium was cancelled in Brussels. It's clear that soccer matches throughout Europe are a focal point of this wave of terrorism, which has been claimed by ISIS.

The German-Netherlands match had planned on hosting esteemed spectators: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, considered by many to be among the most powerful individuals in the Western world, and several of her cabinet members, along with two Dutch government ministers, were expected to attend.


Germany's soccer team never arrived at the stadium -- instead, its bus was diverted en route to a safe, undisclosed location. The team had originally wanted the match against the Netherlands to be cancelled out of respect to the events in Paris.

Whatever happens, fans and soccer teams will remain unsettled about the prospect of an attack at future soccer stadiums. In light of the clear pattern of attacks on soccer stadiums, the German Bundesliga soccer league is going to reconsider whether upcoming matches will be held as originally scheduled.


While no bomb has been confirmed inside the stadium, reports indicate that an unidentified "suspicious object" was found outside the stadium. That object, combined with the foreign intel police were provided, quickly prompted them to cancel the game. Arriving reporters were refused entry into the stadium along with fans as those currently inside were evacuated.

That's all authorities have made public for now, but the investigation remains active, and more details are sure to come.

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