EPL club Manchester United faces an estimated US$4.3M bill "after offering to compensate those who had tickets" to yesterday's postponed match against Bournemouth and "cannot make the rearranged fixture on Tuesday evening," according to Andrew Bounds of the FINANCIAL TIMES. About 75,000 people were in attendance at what was to have been the last game of the EPL season "when it was abandoned just after the scheduled kick-off" because of a "dummy bomb left behind after a training exercise." The device was "used in a training exercise for sniffer dogs in the week before the game" but was "not collected by the private company in charge of the drill." The device, found in a toilet, "was destroyed in a controlled explosion." However, hours later the device "was declared a fake and 'unviable.'" Even though the device was "found to be a fake, the incident will raise fears about the potential for more sporting events to be targeted, whether by terrorists or hoaxers." ManU will play in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, with security "likely to be tightened even further" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/16). In London, Henry Winter writes the decision was made by the EPL that the game "most affected by this one, Manchester City’s match away to Swansea City, should kick off on time, indicating that officials realised that the United game would not be played." There was "no consideration of holding on to synchronise kick-off times." This was "too serious to worry about Champions League qualification" (LONDON TIMES, 5/16). Also in London, Paul Hirst reports ManU are "considering severing ties with the two companies who are understood to have been used in the botched training exercise." The dummy device was "comprised of a mobile phone attached to a pipe" (THETIMES.co.uk, 5/16).
SIGN OF THE TIMES: In London, Rice, Ogden & Mortimer write the abandonment of yesterday's game was the "first time a Premier League fixture has been called off due to security concerns" (London INDEPENDENT, 5/16). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Flynn & Robinson wrote the Paris attacks of last November marked the "first time in recent memory that terrorists carried out an attack at a major European sports venue" (WSJ.com, 5/15). USA TODAY's Martin Rogers in a front-page piece writes the "bizarre saga" at yesterday's ManU match is a "reminder that security measures and soccer now go hand in hand." The sport is "a legitimate target for those either seeking attention or manufacturing harm" (USA TODAY, 5/16).
