Tributes This Day In Football History: The 96 Football Fans Who Went to A Match But Didn't Come Home on the Hillsborough Anniversary
Liverpool Football Club led the tributes to the fans who went to a match between their side and Nottingham Forest in 1989, but didn’t come home. It was indeed a sad event in history. City rivals Everton held a minute’s applause in memory of those who lost their lives before their game against Burnley.
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield, England on 15 April 1989, during the 1988–89 FA Cup semi-final game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. With 96 fatalities and 766 injured it is the worst disaster in British sporting history.
The crush occurred in the two standing-only central pens in the
Leppings Lane stand, allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before
kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance
turnstiles, the police match commander, chief superintendent
David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an
influx of even more supporters to the already overcrowded central pens. (wiki)
In the days and weeks following the disaster, police fed false
stories to the press suggesting that hooliganism and drinking by
Liverpool supporters were the root causes of the disaster. Blaming of
Liverpool fans persisted even after the Taylor Report of 1990, which found the main cause of the disaster was a failure of control by South Yorkshire Police (SYP). Following the Taylor report, the DPP ruled there was no evidence to justify prosecution of individuals or institutions. The disaster also led to a number of safety improvements in the largest
English football grounds, notably the elimination of fenced standing terraces in favour of all-seater stadiums in the top two tiers of English football
I pray no one ever goes to a match and not return home. So help us God.
Comments