Skip to main content

An entire stadium of 75,000 is evacuated when a fake smartphone bomb is found

It’s always difficult when you’re busy, but one of the most important aspects of training security teams on how to recognize suspicious packages that may turn out to be bombs, is remembering to pick up all the ones you’ve been using during any training exercise.

What was described as a smartphone attached to a pipe, and as an “incredibly lifelike explosive device,” was found in the toilets at the Old Trafford football ground in Manchester, U.K., over the weekend. It forced the evacuation of all the fans gathered for a match between Manchester United and Bournemouth just 20 minutes before it was scheduled to begin. The stadium can hold at least 75,000 people, but many had not taken their seats at the time of the evacuation.

Recommended Videos

The game was eventually cancelled, the bomb disposal experts called in, and the device was blow up in a controlled explosion. However, a tweet from the Greater Manchester Police revealed that all wasn’t as it first seemed, and that after a complete examination, it was discovered the device, “wasn’t viable.”

Man United match abandoned: Old Trafford evacuated

Exactly what this meant was explained in a statement from the assistant chief constable, who said, “We have since found out that the item was a training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.”

(We’re going to assume these are dogs that find explosives, and not dogs that may explode while doing some searching.)

No one was injured, there was calm at the stadium, and for the most part reports say fans were accepting of the cancelled game. However, Manchester’s police commissioner wasn’t impressed at the unnamed security company’s less-than-effective clean-up job. “This fiasco caused massive inconvenience to supporters who had come from far and wide to watch the match, wasted the time of police officers and the army’s bomb squad, and unnecessarily put people in danger.” He has promised an inquiry to find those responsible.

And that’s why you must always remember to collect your fake bomb training devices after an exercise.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Apple and Samsung rivalling phones, earbuds and more due at huge July event
The OnePlus Summer Launch Event has five new products, including the Nord 5 and Pad 3 Lite
Five OnePlus products launching in July 2025

OnePlus has confirmed it will host a bumper launch event on July 8, where it will announce five new products, covering phones, headphones, wearables and tablets.

The range of new devices will join the OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13R and OnePlus Pad 3 which arrived earlier this year as the Chinese firm fills out its product offering to compete against Apple, Samsung and co.

Read more
You Asked: Big OLED vs. Huge Mini-LED? Your WWDC 2025 Questions Answered!
You Asked Ep. 95: Big OLED vs. Huge Mini-LED?

On today’s episode of You Asked: Should you pick the LG G4 or Sony Bravia 9 for a bright room? What were some of the biggest takeaways from Apple’s jam-packed WWDC event? And one more fun debate: go with an 83-inch OLED or a 98-inch Mini LED TV?

Sony Bravia 9 vs. LG G4: Best for bright rooms?

Read more
Samsung reveals upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 features as it looks to improve your health
Here are four new features coming to the next Galaxy Watch
A person wearing the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 using apps.

If you've been looking forward to the follow-up of the Galaxy Watch 7 then good news, as Samsung has revealed some of the new features coming to its next generation smartwatch.

Expected to be called the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, the South Korean firm has published a post on its site detailing new features for "the upcoming Galaxy Watch".

Read more