When news broke prior to kickoff of the Manchester United-Bournemouth match that a suspicious device was found inside Old Trafford the priority for local police and stadium crew was to keep the fans safe.

Now, there are more details regarding what transpired and led to Sunday’s season finale being postponed.

In a statement released by Manchester United, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward explained the situation further.

According to Woodward, a security firm left the package in question behind after they had conducted training tests earlier in the week. A bomb disposal squad used a controlled explosion to destroy the device that was discovered at the North-West end of the stadium.

The device reportedly did not contain explosives, therefore it couldn’t be detected by police dogs.

“The safety of the fans is our number one aim at every event we host at Old Trafford.  Overall, I’m proud of how our staff responded.

“Once a live situation was identified, the club and police had no option but to treat the matter as a potential terror threat; we could not have assumed it was a training exercise error. Presented with the same situation in the future, we would take the same action.

“We have worked very closely with the police and counter-terrorism specialists for many years now and enjoy their support on a daily basis.

“For tomorrow’s (Tuesday) rearranged match against Bournemouth, we are working closely with Greater Manchester Police to ensure that robust security measures continue to be of the highest priority.

“We are conducting a detailed evaluation with the help of the police and will share our findings across the rest of the game. Valuable lessons will have been learned from yesterday’s events and it is important that those are shared with other stadium operators to ensure that the safety of the public remains the first duty of us all.”

The English Premier League season will conclude with the United-Bournemouth match on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, and will be played at Old Trafford as previously planned.