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Stewards form a ring Image Credit: Reuters

Manchester: Manchester United's home clash with AFC Bournemouth has been abandoned, it can be confirmed.

United was vying with Manchester City to finish in fourth place in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League. United needed to beat Bournemouth and for City to lose at Swansea.

9.30pm - Device 'not viable'

Police say full assessment of suspect package at Manchester United stadium concluded and found device was not viable. A full search of the stadium is ongoing.

9.15pm - 'Life-like explosive device'

Greater Manchester Police have posted online stating that the suspect package was an 'incredibly life-like explosive device'.

8.45pm - Fire engines leaving the scene

A video posted online shows fire engines leaving Old Trafford. However, no official statement about the safety of the situation has yet been made.

8.40pm - Manchester United statement

Manchester United have released a statement on their website, confirming the controlled explosion of a 'suspect package.'

It reads:

'Due to the discovery of a suspect package in the North-West Quadrant of the Old Trafford ground, Manchester United's match against Bournemouth was abandoned on police advice.

People in the stadium were asked to remain in their seats while the forecourt was cleared of fans who had already been evacuated from the stadium.

Bomb disposal teams conducted an assessment of the suspicious device at Old Trafford and a controlled explosion was then carried out by experts within the stadium.

Greater Manchester Police is working with staff at Manchester United as part of the investigation and Assistant Chief Constable John O'Hare commented: “We are doing everything we can to investigate this item as quickly as possible, however our priority is obviously to ensure the safety of everyone in the stadium and surrounding area. As a result, today’s game has been abandoned.

“We don’t make these decisions lightly and we have done this today to ensure the safety of all those attending. I am thankful for everyone’s support and assistance and we will continue to provide updates on this matter as soon as they become available.”

Further announcements will be made as soon as possible.'

8.30pm - Summary 

A controlled explosion was carried out on a suspect package inside Manchester United's stadium on Sunday and the club's Premier League match against Bournemouth was abandoned.

Two of the Old Trafford stands were evacuated about 20 minutes before the scheduled kick-off at 3pm local time. Soon after, the game was called off and the whole stadium cleared.

Police investigated the package and used sniffer dogs to search the area, before calling in an army bomb disposal unit.

"A controlled explosion has just been carried out within the stadium by bomb disposal experts at Old Trafford," Greater Manchester Police said later on Twitter.

The club said in a statement on its website the package had been found in the North West Quadrant, and the match abandoned on police advice.

TV footage showed fire engines arriving at the stadium.

"We don't make these decisions lightly and we have done this today to ensure the safety of all those attending," Assistant Chief Constable John O'Hare said in a statement.

8.25pm - United cannot qualify for Champions League

United cannot qualify for next season's Champions League, after Manchester City drew at Swansea City on Sunday. They are sixth in the Premier League table and would move above Southampton into fifth with a draw or victory against Bournemouth.

They play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday and it is not clear when a rescheduled game against Bournemouth will be played.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the Premier League said it would seek to rearrange the fixture "as soon as practically possible".

"When it comes to matters of security it is obviously right that Manchester United and the Premier League place the safety of supporters and employees foremost," it said.

"It is always the last resort to abandon one of our fixtures."

8.16pm - Video shows ground half empty

A video posted on social media shows one half of Old Trafford immediately after the code red evacuation was ordered. 

The remaining stands were evacuated soon after.

8.08pm - Tens of thousands in the ground

Tens of thousands of fans were ordered to evacuate the 75,600 capacity stadium when the alert was sounded about 20 minutes before the scheduled kick-off.

It is not clear how many people were in the stadium when the evacuation was ordered, but the game was expected to be close to its capactiy.

7.51pm - Controlled explosion carried out

A controlled explosion was carried out on a suspect package in Manchester United's Old Trafford ground on Sunday, police said.

Earlier a Premier League match between United and Bournemouth was abandoned and the stadium evacuated before kick-off following the discovery of the package.

"A controlled explosion has just been carried out within the stadium by bomb disposal experts at Old Trafford. More to follow," Greater Manchester Police said on Twitter.

7.48pm - Threats monitored

A European security official says the suspicious item at Old Trafford coincided with increased chatter about threats to sports stadiums and other targets which would draw considerable crowds, reports AP.

This said, leaving a package like this runs counter to tactics seen recently by extremists and the official said "many times these things amount to hoaxes.

The official said "the terror threat level associated with Irish dissidents has been raised recently due to credible threats we've been monitoring." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak about ongoing investigations.

Last week, British officials raised the threat level regarding a possible attack on the mainland by Irish Republican dissidents, upping the threat level from "moderate" to "substantial." That means an attack was viewed as a "strong possibility."

Security at Premier League stadiums was increased after the Paris attacks that killed 130 people in November, which involved three teams of attackers who blew themselves up or sprayed gunfire at the Stade de France sports stadium, cafes and bars, and the Bataclan concert hall.

7.35pm - Premier League statement

The Premier League have released a statement saying the following:

"The decision to abandon the Manchester United versus AFC Bournemouth match was taken after the policed advised of the necessity to deal with suspect package.

When it comes to matters of security it is obviously right that Manchester United and the Premier League place the safety of supporters and employees foremost.

The Premier League will seek to rearrange the fixture as soon as is practically possible and will advise fans accordingly. It is always the last resort to abandon one of our fixtures and while we apologise for the inconvenience caused to fans we are sure, in circumstances, they will appreciate the need to do so."

7.28pm - Police statement

Greater Manchester Police said in a statement it was working with staff at the club to investigate a suspicious item found at the stadium.

"We don't make these decisions lightly and we have done this today to ensure the safety of all those attending," Assistant Chief Constable John O'Hare said.

"A controlled evacuation of the stadium has now taken place. We are awaiting the imminent arrival of military colleagues to come and support us and establish what exactly we are dealing with." Police also tweeted that the Army Bomb Disposal Unit were on the scene to help.

7.26pm - Match will be re-scheduled

United are still in with a chance of clinching the final Champions League qualifying place depending on Manchester City's result against Swansea City on Sunday.

They play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday and there has been no announcement on when the game against Bournemouth will be played.

7.22 - Gallery

Pictures of unfolding events in Manchester

7.20pm -Update

A video posted on Twitter shows the calmness of the crowd as the bomb disposal unit and police conduct further investigation.

7.14pm - Update

There was no initial indication of the seriousness of the incident but by the scheduled 3pm kick-off, stewards outside the ground were telling supporters that the game had been abandoned and, within minutes, the decision was confirmed by police.

People who remained inside the stadium were told to stay in their seats "while the forecourt is cleared of fans already evacuated from the stadium."

The club held up announcing the decision to fans remaining in two other stands for another 10 minutes, to avoid congestion outside the ground. By 3.15pm remaining parts of Old Trafford were evacuated.

7.07pm - Update

Greater Manchester Police have tweeted that Army Bomb Disposal Unit are on the scene.

6.59pm - Update

Police with sniffer dogs were seen inside Old Trafford after the announcement was made.

Greater Manchester Police said on its Twitter page that people should "avoid the area if possible."

The rest of the Premier League games being played on Sunday, the final day of the league season, went ahead as scheduled.

6.48pm - Update

Announcements were made on the public address system that security staff should invoke "operation red code".

Half of the stands at Old Trafford were evacuated and United later confirmed that a suspicious package had been discovered in the Stretford End stand.

Public address announcements instructed supporters in the South and East Stands - including the travelling contingent of Bournemouth fans - to remain in their seats before the game was called off.

It is the second time in less than a week that Manchester United have been involved in a security alert.

Their game at West Ham United on Monday was delayed after their team bus was attacked by fans.Manchester United says two stands at its Old Trafford stadium have been evacuated ahead of the team's Premier League game against Bournemouth.

6.16pm - Update

No official reason has yet been given by United. British broadcaster Sky Sports, as well as the club's own Twitter feed, said the stands were evacuated because of a suspect package.

Fans in The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and the Stretford End were evacuated about 30 minutes before the scheduled kick-off time of 3pm local time. Fans in other stands were allowed to stay inside the stadium.

Social media updates

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Bomb disposal unit arriving at Old Trafford Image Credit: AP
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The stadium was evacuated but crowds are still watching from afar Image Credit: AP
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