Beckham and 70,000 fans evacuated after bomb threat

David Beckham – and 70,000 spectators – were evacuated from Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the 88th minute of a premier Spanish clash after a bomb threat was reported to a Basque newspaper.

Officials said they acted on a “credible” threat, but no device was found.

The Bernabeu was targeted by ETA on May 1, 2002, when Madrid was to play FC Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final. A car bomb exploded in a street outside the stadium and 17 people were slightly injured.

Referee Lizondo Cortes halted last night’s game with the score at 1-1 between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.

In an unusual move, fans were allowed to walk across the pitch to access exits more easily.

A threat phoned in to the Basque newspaper Gara said a device was set to explode at the stadium at 9pm (2000 Irish Time). The stadium was evacuated at 8.45pm (1945 Irish Time).

The Basque separatist group ETA has issued similar warnings to Gara before a series of small explosions in Spanish cities in recent days.

Press reports indicated a backpack was found in the north stand of the Bernabeu, but that it had been left there by a fan who had departed in a hurry.

Real Madrid club president Florentino Perez was seen in the VIP stand looking on, apparently making sure the evacuation went smoothly. The whole operation took just over 10 minutes.

Real Sociedad is from San Sebastian, a sea port on the northern coast of Spain that is considered one of the principal tourist attractions of the Basque country, which ETA wants to become an independent nation.

A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said that “the warning was credible and as a result we set in motion the necessary security measures.”

Madrid’s accident and emergency service, SAMUR, said that more than 100 police and traffic agents organised vehicle and pedestrian flows around the stadium to avoid traffic gridlock.

Outside the stadium, such soccer stars as Luis Figo and Jose Maria “Guti” Gutierrez made telephone calls while the referee and linesmen walked away shrouded in blankets as protection against the winter cold.

:: Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is due to take the stand today to address allegations that his Socialist party helped instigate protest rallies to reap political capital from the Madrid train bombings that claimed 191 lives.

Cell phone text messages convening protest rallies spread like wildfire the night before Spain’s general election on March 14, three days after the bombings.

Angry demonstrators accused the pro-US government of making Spain a target for al-Qaida. The opposition went on to win the election.