A crush occurred at the Leppings-Lane end of the ground during the 1981 semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers after hundreds more spectators were permitted to enter the terrace than could safely be accommodated, resulting in 38 injuries, including broken arms, legs and ribs. Nottingham Forest supporters were allocated the South Stands and Spion Kop[a] on the east end, with a combined capacity of 29,800, reached by 60 turnstiles spaced along two sides of the ground. [216] Following on from (and out of respect for) the Hillsborough families' decision to conclude official memorials at Anfield with a final service in 2016,[217] it was decided not to hold any further memorials at Spion Kop. A member of the Hillsborough Families Support Group responded "too little, too late". [96] He said that "the Operational Order and police tactics on the day failed to provide for controlling a concentrated arrival of large numbers should that occur in a short period. I published in good faith and I am sorry that it was so wrong. [139], On 23 October 2012, Norman Bettison resigned with immediate effect as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, after Maria Eagle MP on the floor of the House and protected by parliamentary privilege, accused him of boasting about concocting a story that all the Liverpool fans were drunk and police were afraid they were going to break down the gates and decided to open them.
Determinations and findings of the Hillsborough inquests Documents disclosed confirm that repeated attempts were made to find supporting evidence for alcohol being a factor, and that available evidence was significantly misinterpreted. [294] Johnson apologised at the time of the article, travelling to Liverpool to do so,[295] and again following the publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012; Johnson's apology was rejected by Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, whose son James, 18, died in the disaster:[296].
Hillsborough: Timeline of the 1989 stadium disaster - BBC News Liverpool lodged a complaint before the match in 1989. The referee blew his whistle two minutes into the game to stop play and a minute's silence was held for those who lost their lives at Hillsborough. The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. The findings concluded that 164 witness statements had been altered. Chief Superintendent Mole himself was to be transferred to the Barnsley division for "career development reasons". Pearce went on to reflect that if South Yorkshire Police bore any responsibility, it was "for not realising what brutes they had to handle. [146] Sir John Goldring was appointed as Assistant Coroner for South Yorkshire (East) and West Yorkshire (West) to conduct those inquests. Lord Justice Taylor, Interim Report (Cm 765), The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, 15 April 1989: Inquiry by the Rt. It was brought by police officers on duty against the chief constable who was said to have been vicariously liable for the disaster. South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright appointed chief constable Simon Parr of Cambridgeshire Constabulary to head an investigation into the matter. [290] Although the original apology was not printed in the magazine as it was not considered "serious enough",[291] its Australian editor, Geoff Campbell, released a statement: "We deeply regret the photograph captions published in the November issue of the Australian edition of FHM, accompanying an article about the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. 14 in the UK charts.[229]. [60][61], A disaster appeal fund was set up with donations of 500,000 from the UK Government, 100,000 from Liverpool F.C. In addition to the "unlawful killing" verdict, the jury concluded that "errors or omissions" by police commanding officers, Sheffield Wednesday, the ambulance service and the design and certification of the stadium had all "caused or contributed" to the deaths, but that the behaviour of football supporters had not. [51], Condolences flooded in from across the world, led by the Queen. Mackrell pleaded not guilty to the two charges against him. It obviously wasn't a silly mistake; nor was it a simple oversight. [156][157] Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh called for David Cameron to make a formal apology in the House of Commons to the families of those killed at Hillsborough and to the city of Liverpool as a whole. Supporters laid down flowers and blue and white scarves to show respect for the dead and unity with fellow Merseysiders. Today I offer my profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool for that headline. He was suspended from the club for a fortnight and many fans felt he should not play for the club again. [163] Coroner Sir John Goldring warned the jury that there was "not a shred of evidence" that any Masonic meeting actually took place, or that those named were all Freemasons,[164] advising the jury to cast aside "gossip and hearsay". The disaster has been acknowledged on 15April every year by the community in Liverpool and football in general. Ruling on Submissions of No Case to Answer", "Lack of Hillsborough accountability is a scandal, says minister", "Hillsborough families attack 'ludicrous' acquittals of police", "Hillsborough families to sue police for 'abuse on industrial scale', "Hillsborough: Police forces agree cover-up compensation for victims", "Hillsborough memorial returns to Anfield", "Anfield memorial updated in honour of 97th victim of Hillsborough", "Hillsborough memorial clock unveiled at Liverpool Town Hall", "Everton FC to unveil tribute to Hillsborough 96 ahead of Merseyside derby", "Uefa to help Liverpool avoid Hillsborough clash", "Anfield's Hillsborough memorial service to be held for last time in April", "Football to remember Hillsborough disaster", "A minute's silence to remember Hillsborough", "Liverpool avoid Hillsborough anniversary clash", "Thousands flock to Anfield as Liverpool marks 20th anniversary of Hillsborough", "Hundreds mark Hillsborough anniversary in city", "Giggs showed that even in a cash-conscious age the game has moments which defy evaluation", "Milan vs Real Madrid Fans Sing You'll Never Walk Alone", "MP's tearful tribute to Hillsborough 96", "Hillsborough debate full transcript: Read everything MPs said in the House of Commons link to full video now added", "Hillsborough: 97th victim's family 'proud' of Freedom of Liverpool award", "Chapter 12: Behind the headlines: the origins, promotion and reproduction of unsubstantiated allegations (Page 3 of 10): 'The Truth', "The Immediate Aftermath The Media Reaction Hillsborough Football Disaster", "Is it time to forgive and forget Kelvin Mackenzie and the Sun over the lies they told about Hillsborough? [284] The Times later tweeted that "We made a mistake with the front page of our first edition, and we fixed it for our second edition. His cousin, Steven Gerrard, then aged 8, went on to become Liverpool F.C. [17] From 1974, when these security standards were put in place, crushes occurred in several English stadiums. [41], When the gates were opened, thousands of fans entered a narrow tunnel leading from the rear of the terrace into two overcrowded central pens (pens 3 and 4), creating pressure at the front. [222][223] The Kop, Centenary and Main Stands were opened to the public before part of the Anfield Road End was opened to supporters. Bibliography of over 150 books, journal articles, TV programmes and websites relating to the Disaster and its aftermath produced by Sheffield City Council's Archives Service. The 96 people who died at the Hillsborough football stadium disaster in 1989 were unlawfully killed and a catalogue of failings by police and the ambulance services contributed to their deaths,. The clock at the Kop End stood still at 3:06pm, the time that the referee had blown his whistle in 1989 and a minute's silence was held, the start signalled by match referee from that day, Ray Lewis. For the second time in half a decade a large body of Liverpool supporters has killed people the shrine in the Anfield goalmouth, the cursing of the police, all the theatricals, come sweetly to a city which is already the world capital of self-pity. Up to 10,000 Liverpool supporters have tickets to the standing terraces on their side of the pitch.. In March 1997just before the eighth anniversary of the disasterit was reported he had emerged from the condition and was able to communicate using a touch-sensitive pad, and he had been showing signs of awareness of his surroundings for up to three years before. Following the finding that they did not have a case to answer, the restrictions were lifted.[207]. Trevor Hicks, whose two daughters had been killed, described the verdicts as 'lawful' but 'immoral'.[83]. Consequently, a course of public justice could not have been perverted. This prompted 380 complaints and the BBC apologised, saying that the character was simply reminding another character, former football hooligan Jase Dyer, that the actions of hooligans led to the fencing-in of football fans. [119] In April 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced she had requested secret files concerning the disaster be made public.[120]. [126][127], The panel noted that, despite being dismissed by the Taylor Report, the idea that alcohol contributed to the disaster proved remarkably durable. It said criticism of Rooney was wrong and co-ordinated by the Liverpool Echo and Liverpool Post. The remaining 14 victims lived in other parts of England. All five were bailed to appear at the Crown Court in September. [46]:149[47][48][49][50] The remaining 39 ambulances were collectively able to transport approximately 149 people to either Northern General Hospital, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, or Barnsley Hospital for treatment. In the email, which came to light as the result of a Freedom of Information request, Crompton had said that the families' "version of certain events has become 'the truth' even though it isn't". The first reading was read by Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar. Two British stage plays also dealt with the disaster with different view points: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Candles were lit for each of the 96 people who died. A former South Yorkshire police inspector who was on duty at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough when 96 people were crushed to death has said he believed before the match that the. I think there will be a real boycott." [195], At a trial preparation hearing at Preston Crown Court on 10September 2018, Duckenfield pleaded not guilty to all 95 charges against him. Holes in the perimeter fencing were made by fans desperately attempting to rescue others. At a meeting in Liverpool with relatives of those involved in Hillsborough in October 1997, he flippantly remarked "Have you got a few of your people or are they like the Liverpool fans, turn up at the last minute? [322], The American sports network ESPN produced the documentary Hillsborough as part of its 30 for 30 series of sports films (under a new "Soccer Stories" subdivision). [134][135][136][137] Calls were also made for Sir Dave Richards to resign as chairman of the Premier League and give up his knighthood as a result of his conduct at Sheffield Wednesday at the time of the disaster. Rather than establishing crowd safety as their top priority, the clubs, local authorities and police viewed their roles and responsibilities through the 'lens of hooliganism'. The Hillsborough inquest jury must answer a detailed questionnaire before delivering their verdicts. [20], Risks associated with confining fans in pens were highlighted by the Committee of Inquiry into Crowd Safety at Sports Grounds (the Popplewell inquiry) after the Bradford City stadium fire in May 1985. [191], On 9 August 2017, all except Duckenfield appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court. [278] Everton F.C. [321], On the 20th anniversary of the disaster, BBC Radio 4 produced an episode of their series The Reunion on the subject of Hillsborough. In July 2021, a coroner ruled that Andrew Devine, who died 32 years after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the day, was the 97th victim. [4] The disaster 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. [53] The Liverpool F.C. It became still less likely when those on the track made no move towards the pitch. [201][202], On 26 May 2021, Denton, Foster and Metcalfe were all found not guilty of perverting the course of justice by altering 68 police officers' statements, when Mr Justice William Davis found that they had no case to answer. Flames were added either side of the Liverpool F.C. [citation needed], A television drama, based on the disaster and subsequent events, titled simply Hillsborough, was produced by Granada Television in 1996. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United players showed respect by wearing black armbands during their Champions League quarter-final matches on 14 and 15 April 2009. The panel was chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool. Hillsborough disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans ultimately resulted in 97 deaths and hundreds of injuries. [57], UEFA President Jacques Georges caused controversy by describing the Liverpool supporters as "beasts",[58] wrongly suggesting that hooliganism was the cause of the disaster, which had occurred less than four years after the Heysel Stadium disaster. [4] Following the Taylor Report, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled there was no evidence to justify prosecution of any individuals or institutions. calling for his resignation, but he apologised on discovering hooliganism was not the cause. [148] The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in respect of all 96 victims (by majority verdict of 72).
Taylor Report - Wikipedia