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| The flowers and tributes are a regular at the memorial at Anfield |
For
Liverpool fans across the globe, this week has been harrowing and difficult at
best.
The
support of the fans united the players against tonight, as they battled to a
1-1 draw away at Sunderland.
Although
it leaves the Reds still without a win in four Premier League matches, the
result was more than just a football match.
It
was for the families who this week may have had the truth but have had to deal
with many emotions within the biggest injustice in sporting history.
Difficult pieces to
write
As
a Liverpool fan myself, I’ve had to report on the Hillsborough story with two
pieces for Total Football Magazine.
I
can honestly say that both pieces were very difficult to write, possibly the
hardest ever in my days as either an amateur blogger, student journalist or in
the unpaid writer/editor position that I have today.
On
Wednesday night, I sat down to read the report findings of the Hillsborough
panel and it was heartbreaking to read.
I won’t lie to say that it brought some tears to me too as I struggled
to digest some of the damming revelations.
Britain’s
biggest cover up was finally blown out into the public eye – and the truth that
the families and the football club have always believed has come out.
In
case some people wonder what I mean, I will give some background into why
Hillsborough has been talked about so much this week.
On
a sunny, spring afternoon on 15 April 1989, Liverpool supporters flocked to
Sheffield, anticipating a feisty but hopefully successful victory in an FA Cup
semi-final with Nottingham Forest.
Blunders of the first
magnitude
Due
to ‘blunders of the first magnitude’ (see Lord Justice Taylor’s report) from
senior police members, a terrible crush occurred in the Leppings Lane end of
the Hillsborough terraces.
96
supporters were killed and many others were injured on the terraces.
For 23 years, Liverpool fans and more
importantly, the families of the bereaved have been campaigning for justice
with little reward.
Although
Lord Justice Taylor’s report later that year blamed police control, the
cover-up that followed was absolutely extraordinary.
First,
South Yorkshire Police attempted to blame the victims for their horrendous
mismanagement.
Over
250 statements from police on duty that day were either deleted or altered, as
the panel revealed in their findings on Wednesday.
No remorse
For
them to have done this shows they had no remorse. They took the coward’s way out and those
responsible deserve criminal prosecution.
While
I’m not one to single out members, the role that chief superintendent David
Duckenfield had on the day plays a part.
He
ordered the gate to be opened to relieve the pressure on the turnstiles which
was a shocking and dithering piece of thinking that led to tragic and
horrendous consequences.
Next
to be questioned is the FA’s role. This
week, it was revealed that the Hillsborough ground did not have the updated
safety certificate at the time. Why on
earth did they play the semi-final there?
There
had been crowd trouble at the previous semis in 1987 and 1988 and at the time,
there would have been better neutral stadiums to play the match.
Sheffield
Wednesday don’t come out of anything with shine either. They badly mismanaged their own ground and
denied that there had been crowd problems in previous matches.
The
FA’s apology this week fell on deaf ears.
They didn’t make any reaction until 24 hours after the report was
published this week which was very disappointing and in their initial
statement, there was no apology.
The first inquest was
flawed
It
might be better run today but in the name of David Bernstein (current
chairman), I order him to resign.
Our
governing body had shamed Liverpool in 1989 and still were doing so 72 hours
ago.
Next,
the coroner of the initial inquest who put in a cut-off point of 3.15pm, which
made the first inquest flawed.
This
week, it was revealed that 41 people could have been saved, as they were still
alive from the initial crush, meaning well after 3.15pm. The match was stopped at 3.06pm on 15 April
1989.
For
Dr Stefan Popper to have put that in place first time round, it meant the
families were always fighting a losing and unfair battle.
His
judgement has to be questioned but from the media background I come from,
Kelvin MacKenzie makes me laugh.
This
week, he finally apologised for the scandalous story ‘THE TRUTH’ which ran in
the Sun newspaper four days after the disaster.
Lies and outrage
In
fact, what they published that day was complete and utter lies – with stories
such as survivors robbing the dead and urinating on police officers.
MacKenzie
claimed that he had got the report from senior police members, a Tory MP and a
reputable Sheffield news agency.
The
story should never had run and just added to the grief and outrage everyone
felt at the time.
Many
newsagents on Merseyside never sold the Sun anymore.
As a fan of the club, I have never brought a
copy of the Sun and even feel disappointed when my brother or friends read it.
That
paper has never had anything good about it.
Most of their ‘stories’ are garbage.
As for MacKenzie, he can stick his apology.
As
Trevor Hicks, who lost daughters Sarah and Victoria in the carnage of
Hillsborough said on Wednesday; “He’s a lowlife. A clever lowlife but a lowlife.’ MacKenzie is scum; it is as simple as that.
Special thanks
I
was pleased to see David Cameron make a double apology in the House of Commons
on Wednesday.
He
admitted the mistakes made and there have been no blockages from the coalition
about the releasing of the 450,000 official documents.
The
government in 1989 might have had a role in the cover-up but it is difficult to
say how big Margaret Thatcher’s role in it was.
I
don’t want to judge it but their apology is one that most would accept with
gratitude.
While
this piece has been mainly about the blame game, there should be special thanks
that go out to a few people.
Firstly,
the panel that had a lot of work to do and it must have been tough to look
through all the documents. Their hard
work means the families finally have the truth.
Kenny
Dalglish deserves a lot of credit for his support and desire to be there for
the families. He has always campaigned
on their behalf and will not give up no matter what.
Also,
all the football clubs down the land that have shown their support.
Sunderland
fans were great tonight, Everton have always been there for Liverpool since
those events in 1989 and even Manchester United supporters have shown their
sorrow and sadness. It is these
occasions when football really doesn’t matter.
The families will
continue to fight on
Lastly,
the families of the 96 who have campaigned for justice and will not stop until
they have justice.
They
handled everything on Wednesday with so much dignity on what must have been a
distressing and emotional day.
They
always believed the truth would come out and now it has – although obviously,
23 years is far too long.
So,
now begins the true fight for justice.
Surely, a new inquest will happen and the verdict changed to ‘unlawful
killing.’
Hopefully,
some of those responsible will also be criminally convicted for not just the
worst disaster in British sport but one of the biggest injustices in British
history.
I’m
part of the Justice for the 96 campaign on Facebook and as a group, perhaps
even as a nation, the pressure will be on for heads to roll, the guilty to be
done and for the dead to finally be able to rest in peace with truth and
justice revealed.
Sometimes…the
game of football means absolutely nothing, especially when an appalling human
tragedy happens.
JUSTICE
FOR THE 96, JUSTICE FOR THE 96!! You’ll
Never Walk Alone!
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