Manchester: Supporters spoke of their anger and terror over Manchester United’s abandoned match against Bournemouth as they reconvened at a subdued Old Trafford for yesterday’s rescheduled fixture.
Sunday’s game was called off at the last minute following the discovery of a suspicious package in a toilet in the stadium’s northwest quadrant, which prompted a hasty evacuation.
It transpired that the device had been a fake bomb accidentally left behind during a terror training exercise last week and the Bournemouth fans making the 500-mile round trip for the second time in three days were less than impressed.
“I was absolutely livid,” said Andrew Hardy, 42, who was back at Old Trafford with his 10-year-old son, Connor, after both were involved in Sunday’s evacuation. “I couldn’t believe that a cock-up had ruined the day for so many thousands of people. I was absolutely blown away.”
Bournemouth offered to cover the cost of travel for the fans attending yesterday’s match, but their inability to find enough coaches left fans requiring alternative means of transport. Hardy ended up offering a lift to three fellow supporters – Louis Martin, 23, Ricky Martin, 27, and Charles Rees, 16 – who had turned to a Bournemouth fans’ forum on Facebook for help after being unable to find a place on one of the coaches.
There was praise for the orderly nature of the stadium evacuation, but fans reported confusion caused by the fact that whereas the cancellation of the game was being widely reported by conventional and social media, fear of creating a crush by the exits meant that the supporters inside the stadium were among the last to be told what was happening.