By Elliott West
“I went to a football match 35 years ago today. I came home and 97 didn’t. Never forgotten. Always in my thoughts”.
Simon Rimmer
Introduction
It’s 35 years since one of the worst football tragedies occurred on UK soil. The Hillsborough disaster is etched on every Liverpool fans’ memories and a tragedy caused by negligence and panic by those in charge. An avoidable situation that led to the death of 97 loyal fans on 15 April 1989 at a semi-final FA Cup match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The command given by police match commander David Duckenfield to open exit gate C at Leppings Lane to ease overcrowding signalled a recipe for disaster with a mass influx of fans entering the pens. 2,000 fans streamed in, in a five minute period. A crush ensued and despite the match being suspended at 1506, resulted in 97 deaths and 766 injuries.
The Cover Up
Those who lost their loved ones in this horrific incident have never received full justice. The families live in limbo on a day to day basis, knowing full well that the establishment who let this happen will never be held to account and punished for their actions. The Thatcher government of the time and the South Yorkshire Police knew exactly what happened but they chose to bury it in the mists of time. Choosing instead to use a trumped up blame game of hooliganism and drunkenness by Liverpool fans as the cause. A vile campaign that led to The Sun Newspaper printing a despicable story that the fans had urinated on the dead and robbed from them.
What should have been a joyous family day out on a sunny day with two club sides vying for a final place at Wembley Stadium ended with not only tragedy but a unification of grief and a burning desire for justice. A match that had only begun at 1459. At the time, there was a barbaric policy to cage fans into cramped stands, standing in confined spaces behind oppressive fences and only a limited amount of exits. It was only a matter of time before something would go wrong especially if the safety plan wasn’t followed precisely. The Hillsborough disaster is an example of what happens when panic sets in and spirals out of control. No one should have died and there shouldn’t have been a single injury. The fact that 41 of the 96 could have survived is heartbreaking. Yet you just have to look at the pictures and grainy CCTV footage from the day to see how badly wrong it went.
The Hillsborough pitch became a makeshift triage area with players and fans scrambling to save the victims. It took far too long for the emergency services to reach the scene with the first ambulance not reaching pitch-side until 1516 and so primitive first aid was administered. With fans literally hanging from the stands to try and escape, they were pulled up by arms in the upper stand. Injured fans and those with fatal injuries, trampled on in the chaos were helpless. There were not enough stretchers and fans had to rip off the advertising boards to create makeshift stretchers. The kiss of life was given to many to no avail and the gymnasium became a makeshift morgue. As the sun went down, their belongings were scooped up in clear bin bags and all that remained was the scarves, flags and rosettes strewn around the stands.
Justice
This disaster has left a horrific stain on football. The Liverpool fans blamed for a pitch invasion. Despite previous tragedies at Ibrox, Estadio Nacional and Heysel, lessons clearly were not learned. You only have to look at Grenfell to see how things still go badly wrong. False police statements and continuous governments have prevented justice being achieved. It is appalling that it wasn’t until 2009 when Andy Burnham, the then Culture Secretary was heckled at Anfield that the wheels of motion were nodded through by an acknowledged “ok” by the now Manchester mayor. A second Hillsborough enquiry ensued after the first in 1989. It took until 2012 to publish a report. A new inquest in 2012 and concluded in 2016, found after 267 days of evidence resulted in David Duckenfield being found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter at Preston Crown Court in 2019. The fight for justice continues.