No explosives were found in Hanover after the football match between Germany and the Netherlands was cancelled due to threat of attacks involving explosives on Tuesday evening, Interior Minister of German state of Lower Saxony said.
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“We had concrete warnings that someone in the stadium wanted to detonate explosives”, Hanover chief of police Volker Kluwe told dpa.
Police evacuate the HDI Arena prior to the International Friendly match between Germany and Netherlands.
In a show of solidarity, Merkel was set to attend the soccer match with Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and several government ministers.
Germany were playing France in the Stade de France in Paris on Friday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium.
“If [ISIS] can hit us, if [ISIS] can carry out terror attacks in Germany, it will do so – that is our big concern”, Hans-Georg Maassen, president of Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence service, told German broadcaster ARD.
“The fact that our team has had to experience such tragic events within four days is beyond my imagination”, said Rauball in a hastily arranged press conference in Hanover.
The decision to go ahead with the game had already frayed nerves.
Rauball said the German team were rushed back to their team hotel under police escort once the game was called off.
The German national team were not present in the stadium, but now have been taken away to an unconfirmed location. The stadium was evacuated by police about an hour and a half before the kickoff Tuesday night in the northern German city.
“It’s a shame for many football fans who were looking forward to a great game, a game which was to be played under different conditions to usual football games – in the spirit of respect, and as a sign against violence and terrorism”.
A concert to be given by the funk musician Maceo Parker at the Hanover cultural centre Pavillon was also cancelled and the crowd of 900 were sent home.
Security at the stadium was tight, Police armed with machine guns maintained an obvious presence in the city. Reporters arriving for the game were searched, while a sniffer dog was deployed to check their bags.
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Belgium’s friendly with Spain on Tuesday in Brussels was called off on Monday because of security fears in the wake of last week’s attacks in Paris.
