Real Madrid's Champions League semi-final second-leg clash with Barcelona in Madrid went ahead despite an explosion near the ground earlier today. Club officials met with government officials and representatives from Barcelona at 6.00pm GMT to decide the fate of the match following two explosions in the Spanish capital. Only eight minor casualties - mainly cuts from flying glass – were reported from the first incident, while there was also damage to the Real Madrid trophy room and the nearby Europa Tower.
Emergency services were called to the scene of an explosion in a car park near the Santiago Bernabeu football stadium sometime around 4.00pm where fans were gathering ahead of the evening's eagerly anticipated match. The first explosion, 20 kilogrammes of potentially lethal explosives packed into a Renault 19 car, was detonated only 100 metres from the Bernabeu. The ground was immediately sealed off, and threw the fixture into doubt.
ETA, the extremist Basque seperatist organisation, had telephoned a warning and police had managed to clear the area. A second explosion, believed to be the getaway car from the first incident, was later reported 2km from the scene of the first incident.
European football's governing body UEFA only gave the go ahead an hour before the match after discussions with the police, local council and Real Madrid club officials.
Filed by Shane Murray
