Media centre evacuated after bomb scare ahead of Ireland and Italy

Uefa have confirmed that the stadium media centre in Lille was evacuated ahead of Wednesday's Republic of Ireland v Italy game amid a bomb scare.

It is understood people were asked to leave the media facility at the Stade Pierre Mauroy as a precaution after police using sniffer dogs discovered a suspicious package hours before the Euro 2016 Group E fixture was due to kick-off.

However, a Uefa spokesman later revealed that the item was innocent and was no danger to anyone present.

Asked about the evacuation, the spokesman said: “This is correct. It was a false alarm.”