«The game is canceled. The audience is asked to leave the stadium quickly but without a panic,» a police spokeswoman said, according to Spiegel.
According to local authorities, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a number of German ministers had planned to attend the match, which was called off less than two hours before it was scheduled to begin.
«Safety is paramount. There is always a fear,» Hanover Mayor Stefan Schostok told Sports-Informations-Dienst. «I trust the police have made the right decision, when a threat situation exists, then those steps should be taken.»
The Associated Press reports that a bomb threat had been called in earlier on Tuesday, and that policeman Joerg Hoffmeister said that a suspicious object had been found near the HDI-Arena stadium. All roads surrounding the stadium have also been blocked.