Interior Thomas Minister de Maizière said at a press conference on Tuesday night in regard to the threat that “clues about today's football match became so numerous early this evening” that the federal security authorities and himself decided to cancel the game.
“The danger for Germany and Europe is high, the situation is serious. I've been saying it for a long time, and have repeated it since the Paris attacks,” he said, adding that the information had been vetted “thoroughly”.
Despite media reports that an ambulance or vehicle had been found containing explosives, Lower Saxony's interior minister Boris Pistorius could not confirm that any explosives had been found, or that any such vehicle was found near the stadium.
Verdächtiger Gegenstand im IC: Röntgenbild zeigte lt. Bundespolizei Drähte, Platinen und ein Handy. Es bestehe keine Gefahr mehr. #GERNED
— NDR Niedersachsen (@NDRnds) November 17, 2015
Beim verdächtigen Gegenstand im Zug auf dem Hbf Hann handelte es sich um „mindestens eine Attrappe, wenn nicht mehr.“ Bundespolizei #GERNED
— NDR Niedersachsen (@NDRnds) November 17, 2015
Police announced at 7.20pm that the match in Hanover would not go ahead due to “security reasons” and asked thousands of fans to calmly leave the stadium.
Kluwe had also told broadcaster NDR that the threat was reportedly to be within the stadium.
“The plan was to blow up a bomb in the stadium,” Kluwe said. “We received the decisive piece of information 15 minutes after the stadium doors were opened.”
It was to be Germany’s first match after a national friendly in Paris on Friday when suicide attacks outside the Stade de France left three people dead.
German national team trainers had wanted the match against the Netherlands to go ahead as a mark of respect for the victims of the terrorists attacks in Paris which left 129 people dead.
“Security always comes first,” Hanover mayor Stefan Schostok told the Sports News Service (SID). “It’s a fear one always has and I trust the police to have made the right decision.”
Der Spiegel also reported transit restrictions on the U-Bahn at the request of police.
#Hannover #Linden '#Fischerhof #UBahn #GERNED pic.twitter.com/12NEzvSPKd
— Maike Eikelmann (@MaikeEik) November 17, 2015