Phil Hay shares if police found device at Elland Road after Leeds United stadium threat
The Athletic’s Phil Hay has provided an update to the “out of the blue” bomb threat that forced Leeds United to shut down Elland Road earlier this month.
The club received a credible bomb threat through social media, with the club shop and stadium closed with immediate effect [Daily Mail].
And while Hay noted that the threat was viable, he believes that nothing has been found, with Elland Road reopening relatively quickly.
“It was massively out of the blue,” Hay said on The Phil Hay Show on The Athletic (31 March, 12m02s). “Once we dug into it, it became clear there had been a security threat made towards the stadium, I believe.
“Clearly, you can read between the lines of what’s probably gone on there. We haven’t been given any detail beyond the age of the suspect involved and no detail about exactly what was said and what was threatened. But it was a threat that was made online that the police picked up on on Thursday night.
“A slightly odd development and one to keep eyes on. At the moment, the suspect is on police bail so we’ll see how that goes. I think once the police looked into it they saw it was a viable threat, as opposed to someone just having a joke. But I don’t believe anything was found.
“They haven’t gone into specific detail about that and I think if anything had been found, I highly doubt the stadium would have opened as quickly as it did.”
Not good
It’s a sad and distressing time when any such threat is made, and all concerned should be happy that it has been dealt with quickly.
Obviously there is never any good time for a bomb threat to be made, but authorities will have been relieved that the stadium will have been much quieter than usual amid the international break.
Leeds are also away from home in their first match back, visiting Arsenal on Saturday (1 April), giving authorities more time to deal with the situation in West Yorkshire should they require it.
The Whites then return to Elland Road on Tuesday (4 April) as they host Nottingham Forest, in what is set to be a huge clash in the fight for Premier League safety.
Players, coaches and their families will not welcome any threats, and the same can be said for supporters, with all simply keen for the club to be happy and successful on and off the pitch.
In other Leeds United news, Willy Gnonto and Max Wober have joined the club’s growing injury list and will miss the Whites’ trip to Arsenal this weekend.