Fake bomb sees United game abandoned on final day of season

Police dismantled a fake bomb inside Old Trafford on an unnerving final day of the Premier League season that forced the abandonment of Manchester United’s game against Bournemouth before kickoff.

The league is yet to say when the 380th and final game of an unpredictable season will now be played but FA Cup finalist United seems unable to qualify for the Champions League after crosstown rival Manchester City effectively secured fourth place on Sunday.

Two stands in United’s 75,000-capacity stadium in northern England were initially evacuated before the scheduled 3 p.m. kickoff time. As military personnel arrived, the remaining fans and the players were ordered to leave England’s second biggest soccer stadium.

A bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion on what police described as an ”incredibly lifelike explosive device” but one that was not ”viable.”

The incident adds to the uneasiness about safety in sports stadiums in Europe following last year’s Paris attacks when the Stade de France was one of the venues targeted by suicide bombers.

English soccer increased security after that incident and the United game is the first time a Premier League match has been postponed because of a bomb threat.

The unsettling incident for fans came at the climax of the most unpredictable Premier League season.

Leicester was crowned champions earlier this month and completed the first …

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