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Real to finish game on January 5

December 13, 2004 18:02 IST

Real Madrid will play the final seven minutes of their league match against Real Sociedad on January 5 after a bomb threat forced the evacuation of their Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday.

About 70,000 people poured out of Real's stadium in central Madrid with the match level at 1-1 after Basque newspaper Gara received a warning from a caller claiming to represent ETA who said there was a bomb in the ground.

Earlier Report


Real Madrid match abandoned


Representatives of Madrid and Real Sociedad, a side from the Basque city of San Sebastian, agreed at a meeting at the Spanish Football Federation on Monday to play the remainder of the match at 6.00 pm on January 5.

Ticket holders from the original match will be able to watch the seven remaining minutes of play, including four minutes of injury time.

If the result is 1-1, Madrid would drop to fourth in the Spanish Primera Liga, 11 points behind leaders Barcelona.

It was the first time a Spanish stadium had been evacuated because of an ETA bomb threat, Spanish state radio said. ETA targeted the Bernabeu in May 2002 when a car bomb exploded nearby hours before a European Champions League semi-final and 17 people were treated for shock or slight injuries.

Recent weeks have seen a resurgence of activity by ETA, Western Europe's most active guerrilla force which has killed some 850 people since 1968 in a campaign for an independent Basque homeland straddling the border between France and Spain.

Police with sniffer dogs searched the stadium on Sunday and found no bomb.

Real Madrid's team, including England captain David Beckham and Brazilian striker Ronaldo, were left standing around in the street in their soccer kit after the bomb scare.

Hundreds of fans streamed across the pitch on their way to the exits. Tourists and fans took advantage of the opportunity for a photograph between the famous stadium's goalposts.

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