“We all know there is a danger of attacks in all of Europe and also in Germany and here in Bavaria. We have no information that these people are in Munich or in Germany”, he added.

The planned suicide attacks were reported to be connected to IS, officials said. There are now armed police guards at the stations.

Police officers, some in riot gear, were posted at different entrances of Munich’s main rail station which was eerily quiet on a night of traditionally raucous celebrations.

The threat involved suicide attacks on trains, prompting station closures.

Although an investigation was opened, no explosives were found nor arrests made.

Initial police checks of the information turned up nothing, and no one has been detained, Andrea said.

He’s calling on Munich residents to be cautious, but at the same time not to let terror threats interfere with their normal lives. On Friday around noon time, some 100 extra officers were still present in the city.

He is quoted by German newspaper Bild as saying: “The Bavarian authorities have prudently with the support of the Federal Police, level-headed and decisive action”.

Munich police said officials had deemed the information about the threat of an attack on New Year’s Eve as serious and credible.

The stations – Munich’s central station and Pasing station some 8 km away – reopened several hours later after the threat could not be substantiated.

The game had been scheduled within a week of the November 13 attacks on Paris, in which 130 people died; the German national team were in Paris that night, too, losing 2-0 to France in a friendly.

European cities were on high alert for a possible terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve, with celebrations cancelled or limited in some places.

U.S. authorities had also earlier warned that a plot was being hatched, Bayerischer Rundfunk said.

Police reinforcements were deployed to Munich from other parts of Bavaria. “Thanks for staying calm and for your understanding concerning our measures”. The Bavarian capital is home to the Oktoberfest, visited by 6 million people every year, and the annual Munich security conference, attended by the foreign ministers of all the major global powers. The threat was considered credible and included names of “about half” of the suspects.

Belgian authorities announced the release Friday of three more people in connection with a suspected plot to carry out attacks in Brussels on New Year’s Eve, according to The Associated Press.

French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday the country was “not finished with terrorism” and used a New Year’s message to defend controversial plans to strip citizenship from those convicted of terrorism offences.