On 15 April 1989 at 15:00/3:00PM BST, a FA Cup semi final match between Liverpool F.C. and Nottingham Forest began at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. This was an important match because if either team won, they had to play off against the winner of separate FA Cup semi final in the early summer in London where the winner would be gifted the FA Cup trophy. The stadium had held five previous FA Cup semi finals before this one none of those FA Cup semi finals could prepare them for this one.
A fire at a different stadium meant that there were changes to crowd control. Advice from the police saw only seven turnstiles being allocated by Sheffield at Hillsborough that day to admit 10,100 Liverpool fans. It would later be revealed by the jury that there were missed instructions regarding the turnstiles and managing the crowds outside, how the pens were to be monitored and filled and how would’ve been responsible for the monitoring of the pens. In a nutshell, there was a serious error in policing the turnstiles and the consequences were deadly.
By 2.25PM, there was a dangerous build-up of harmless supporters and this meant that the stadium’s emergency gates were opened 18 minutes before the awaited 3PM kick-off time. The police were slow to responding to the increase in crowd size at Leppings Lane and their lack of co-ordination alongside the closure of the road was exacerbated by the sweep of fans.
The police were supposed to order the closure of the central tunnel once pens three and four were filled prior to opening gate C but the commanding officers were not informed prior to opening this gate as they failed to consider the new location of the fans and when to close the tunnel.
These supporters were innocent and didn’t do anything other than yearn to see the game and get into the stadium that day. Their innocent persistence to get to their seats caused a crowd crush that saw many sustain serious injuries with many being so severe that they died. All of the killings were unlawful and anyone who died from injuries sustained on that day are added to the official death toll of the tragedy. In 2021, that total was brought up to 97 with the death of Andrew Devine.
What was worse was that the jury concluded that the police delayed declaring the crowd crush a major incident that was worsened by the lack of control, communication, coordination and command. Even the ambulance officers were unsuccessful in the ascertain of the nature of the emergency. This lack of ascertain saw delays to responding to the situation and only three ambulances ever made it to the pitch. The match was aborted at 3:06PM and it was only after that was when the ambulances arrived on the pitch.
The design of the stadium was also a factor in causing the crowd crush as pens three and four weren’t efficient in being compliant with the Green Guide. The short number of turnstiles meant that capacities couldn’t be monitored and the side pen signage was inadequate. The stadium’s safety certificate which hadn’t been issued since 1986 failed to be amended to reflect the changes made to the Leppings Lane section and the capacity numbers weren’t calculated properly. Kick off should’ve also been delated when there were still fans outside the turnstiles at Leppings Lane at 2:40PM BST.
The tragedy devastated Liverpool F.C. who had a memorial built outside of their Anfield Stadium back in Liverpool in memory of those who died. Every match that is within close proximity to the anniversary of the disaster features a moment of silence for the victims. Those who survived the crush now have life altering disabilities as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from that day.
Not everyone was sympathetic to the victims as British conservative tabloid The Sun published an article called THE TRUTH that victim blamed the fans by creating false narratives like relieving themselves on the police. This caused all of the city of Liverpool to collect copies of the tabloid rag to burn them in bonfires. Liverpool F.C. also banned journalists working for The Sun (who are referred to as the S*n (the paper’s name with a star or an asterisk in the letter U’s place) from Anfield. The club’s rivals Everton also followed with their own ban but on the grounds of racism directed at one of their players. The Merseyside is one of a few placed in the UK you can’t buy a paper like The Sun owned by Australian billionaire tyrant Rupert Murdoch and this 35 year long boycott has seen their stay vote majority during the Brexit referendum.
