04/20/24
May 15, 2016
Manchester United Match Cancelled by Bomb Scare: The last weekend of the Premier League season is supposed to be played with 20 matches that all start at the same time, but there was no match at Old Trafford today between Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth. An "incredibly lifelike explosive device" was found in the stands before kickoff. A delay for a security sweep turned into a cancellation and a "controlled explosion" was performed. Security concerns at soccer venues in Europe are high after the Stade de France was a target in the Paris attacks last November in which 130 were killed.
football, fixture, table, match and pitch or soccer, schedule, standings, game and field?
football, schedule, standings, pitch
Fixture and (especially) table aren't used anywhere close to enough in North America.
Football and pitch are perfectly normal terms for sports in NA.
posted by grum@work at 03:53 PM on May 15, 2016
football, fixture, table, match and pitch or soccer, schedule, standings, game and field?
I'd leave pitch (though not with a particularly strong objection), which I would place as the equivalent of saying "lift" instead of "elevator" or "pissed" instead of "drunk", but I have no qualms with any of the others. Really, the only term that irks me is saying "kit" instead of "uniform".
posted by bender at 04:40 PM on May 15, 2016
May one comment whilst on holiday?
I don't object to any of the words creeping into our discussion, as it helps familiarize adventurous sports zealots with the terminology if they decide to branch out and read commentary from overseas sources.
I think language is fascinating, and always enjoy observing usage differences such as the whole singular vs. plural group entity thing and the were/was syndrome. As in "Everton were at a disadvantage". (But Chicago was not.)
I'm intrigued by cultural measurements such as multiplicity of expressions for the same thing. The English have more expressions for throwing up than we have unlicensed firearms.
posted by beaverboard at 05:59 PM on May 15, 2016
Police say the device that was found at Manchester United's stadium before the match against Bournemouth in the Premier League was a training device that was left inside Old Trafford following an earlier security exercise.
posted by tommybiden at 06:57 PM on May 15, 2016
Police say the device that was found at Manchester United's stadium before the match against Bournemouth in the Premier League was a training device that was left inside Old Trafford following an earlier security exercise.
I'm sure there are some very hard-working folks amongst stadium security and whoever else was involved, but if this account is accurate, that is hilarious (and sad -- Do the Germans have a word for that?).
posted by bender at 07:20 PM on May 15, 2016
I referred to a shirt as a "jersey" (such as a hockey jersey), and, oh, the responses were nasty!
I presume Man United was going to use a lineup of mostly kids and reserves considering the FA Cup final on Saturday; presumably that will be more so since the match will be played Tuesday night.
As for the device being left after a security training session, that is head-shaking. One would think all objects used, and their sites, would have been accounted. The Twitterverse was insane: "Someone can bring in a package, but I can't bring in a bottle of water."
posted by jjzucal at 07:43 PM on May 15, 2016
What really happened:
A private company left a prawn sandwich in the stadium and said that if it wasn't eaten within twenty four hours, it would go off.
posted by owlhouse at 08:49 PM on May 15, 2016
From the reports, the evacuation of the stadium was remarkable for its orderliness and speed. I heard one comment that it was almost the perfect emergency drill, except it was not a drill. Contrast this with at least one incident in the US when training devices were allowed through airport security during tests. It makes one think a bit.
My comment on the use of "native" terms used in various sports that are not commonly used in American English commentary is this: If the comment is being used appropriately, there's no complaint from this set of ears. If an announcer is deliberately using the term as an affectation, then I will likely tune that announcer out. The term "kit" is a long-standing British usage for military uniforms, including equipment, that has been brought into sports, I have no objection to it, although some announcers here in the US seem to overuse it. I would never call my uniform and protective equipment for umpiring baseball a "kit", although it perfectly fits the British definition of such. The term "jersey" is appropriate for most sports, but in ice hockey it is properly referred to as a "sweater", at least by this son of a Canadian father.
posted by Howard_T at 10:43 PM on May 15, 2016
Howard, I'm with you, and my objection isn't so much to the word ("kit," for example) itself, or to the British person using the only word he has known for it. It is to the American who--and I know a few and have heard others--has a closet full of football or baseball jerseys (or maybe even a hockey sweater) but feels that only the British term will do for describing his soccer apparel.
posted by bender at 11:00 PM on May 15, 2016
This gaffe has to be one of the biggest in pro sports history. Man U can't play on the final Sunday because a security official left a fake bomb behind! The reaction in England must be apoplectic. I should be listening to TalkSport.
posted by rcade at 09:45 AM on May 16, 2016
I presume Man United was going to use a lineup of mostly kids and reserves considering the FA Cup final on Saturday
I would think not because this game was probably bigger to the club than the FA Cup final. They were going to more or less be playing for that last Champion's League spot. Now that the game has been postponed and they know the outcome of the City match, they know there is no hope of getting Champion's League football next season and can absolutely field a weakened team and save the heavier hitters for the cup final.
I assume they did it on purpose so they would know exactly how to handle this match (I don't really).
posted by Ricardo at 10:18 AM on May 16, 2016
I found their starting 11 on the offical united twitter page. It's pretty strong with Marcus Rojo injured in training the day before and Morgan Schneiderlin out with an illness.
https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/731831543182835712
It will be interesting to see how this compares to the starting 11 they field tomorrow.
posted by Ricardo at 10:29 AM on May 16, 2016
Unrelated question: Should Americans describing this great sport use terms such as football, fixture, table, match and pitch or soccer, schedule, standings, game and field?