Soccer Friendly Cancelled
On November 17, 2015 Germany and Netherlands game canceled due to terrorist threat. About an hour and a half before the kickoff police found a suspicious object in the stadium. The German media stated that police received and confirmed a valid bomb threat. Hanover police validated that threat saying there was an explosive device on site. However, in later press conferences there were conflicting reports saying that there wasn’t an explosive device found. German officials also deny reports about a truck with explosives disguised as an ambulance. Hanover police reached out to the public alerting them through Facebook that the game was cancelled. Fans were advised not to panic and return to their homes in a calm manner. For fans that were already at the game they were asked to evacuate by foot. All trains traveling away from the stadium were stopped. Fortunately, there weren’t to many fans at the stadium when this news was announced. At full capacity this stadium holds just under 50,000 people. This could have made for one extremely difficult and complex evacuation under those circumstances. Additionally, the teams weren’t at the stadium yet. They were instructed to reroute to an unknown location until further notice. The German Chancellor was supposed to be in attendance for this match. The Chancellor was going to attend to be a symbol of strength. Life would move forward regardless of the attacks in Paris a few days earlier. Some of the attacks in Paris happened right outside of the stadium where Germany and France were playing. Those attacks caused 129 people to lose their lives. Terrorism has many fans worried that the Euro 2016 events will be canceled. However, tournament organizers earlier in the day reported the event would proceed. This was reported before the incidents in Hanover.
I tend to agree with the way this situation was handled for the most part. There are a few things in this article that left me scratching my head. First, they don’t say anything about this match being rescheduled or not. Second, why would Hanover police confirm that they’ve found an explosive device on location but the German officials deny the report. Finally, the police didn’t go into detail as to why the game was canceled only to say for security reasons.
Ultimately, safety of human lives is the top priority for any event. I think the Hanover police exercised proper judgment in this situation. They received an early report and they were proactive about the ordeal before it could have turned into a disaster. They did a good job of alerting fans before the start of the game. They reached out through social media causing this news to travel rapidly. Furthermore, they made sure the teams were relocated that way none of the players were in danger. The Chancellor was also notified before attending. There wouldn’t be any way for terrorists to get away with the assassination of an official leader. Lastly, the biggest reason why I agree with the cancellation of this match because of the recent terror attacks in Paris.
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