An international friendly soccer match between Germany and the Netherlands in Hannover has been canceled. The game was set to kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local time, but the game was called off just over an hour before the match was set to start. According to the AP, the stadium was evacuated, and trains heading away from the stadium have reportedly been stopped.
Germany vs. Netherlands soccer match canceled, stadium evacuated
The chief of police for Hannover says they received a credible threat of violence.
Alexander Koerner/Getty Images
German interior minister Thomas de Maizere says that he made the recommendation to cancel the match. “It was an extremely tough decision to cancel the match, ” he said, “which was made after many pieces of info indicated concrete threat.” He also said he would not comment on the source of the interior ministry’s information or any reports about specific threats, as the risk of danger is not gone completely.
A game between Belgium and Spain in Brussels also scheduled for Tuesday was canceled by the Belgian FA, with authorities searching Belgium for suspected perpetrators of the Paris terrorist attacks. France and England are playing a match on Tuesday as well, and that game went forward as scheduled.
German chancellor Angela Merkel was set to attend the match, which likely heightened security concerns at the HDI Arena in Hannover. Volker Kluwe, the Hannover chief of police, said there was “concrete evidence that someone wanted to detonate explosives inside the stadium.” He continued that there was “danger for all of Hannover.”
See More:
