This Sunday the local soccer match between Saprissa and Grecia teams had to be suspended at minute 81 and the police ordered the evacuation of the Saprissa Stadium in Tibás after having received an alarm of a bomb in the sport facility.

The Costa Rican police checked the entire stadium and its surroundings and fortunately didn’t find any signs of explosives; however, the building will be checked again by specialists in explosives to guarantee the venue is safe to continue with its regular operation.

The press department of Saprissa explained that an anonymous call was received alerting that there was an explosive device in the stadium, they immediately followed security protocol. This is the first time something like this takes place during a soccer game in Costa Rica. Although a false alarm also took place the day before the Ariana Grande concert back in July; the police was able to track the person that made the call, a Colombian 22-year-old man that claimed everything had been “an innocent joke”, the police arrested the suspect on charges of inciting violence, and seized two cell phones as evidence.

“Saprissa followed the security protocols and the stadium was quickly evacuated. We cannot be irresponsible and carry on with the match when we have no way of knowing whether the threat is true or not”, stated José Pablo Molina from Unafut.

At the moment when the game was suspended Saprissa was ahead 6-1. There were approximately 12,000 people at the stadium.

According to the Minister of Security, Gustavo Mata, measures were immediately taken to secure the National Stadium, since on Tuesday, September 5th Costa Rica will host the World Cup elimination game against Mexico.

The National Stadium will be under surveillance and international protocols followed to guarantee the safety of the attending public and the teams.

Costa Rica and Mexico will face off at the Costa Rica National Stadium this Tuesday at 8 p.m. After the recent win over the United States, Costa Rica needs to at least tie with Mexico to secure its pass to the Russia 2018 World Cup.

“La Sele” will not have an easy job ahead, Mexico is currently sitting in the first position of the group and after winning against Panama 1-0 they have already guaranteed their spot in the World Cup.