Re: Hillsborough Memorial Thread

[McAgger]

Sheffield Wednesday with an amazing gesture

[McAgger]

Also Wembley paying tribute Grand gesture from both stadiums and people involved

[McAgger]

Massive gesture from everyone at Newcastle Football Club. Class act brothers (Moal  ) YNWA

[Arquitecto]

Very happy by the unity and sacrifice (whether gestures small or large) that the whole of the English footballing community, organizations and society have contributed to the incident as I will never forget each and every one of them.

Gestures in these forms are what unites us all.

JFT96

[El Gunner]

RIP

[Robespierre]

Massive gesture by Newcastle.
Our Curva remembered last week when we played at San Siro

[McAgger]

Class act Robes. Grazie!!! The Football World has been absolutely magnificent in their support. Gone but never forgotten. YNWA!!!

[M99]

Liverpool vs City finished on the 96th minute.

[RealGunner]

Olympiacos

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlIDyddCYAAdIMe.jpg

[Kaladin]

RIP

[Red Alert]

City fans in yesterdays game.

[RED]

R.I.P

[RealGunner]

Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez lead 26,000 in Hillsborough memorial service at Anfield

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlRyw67CcAAelqF.jpg

[RedOranje]

http://www.chicago-fire.com/blog/post/2014/04/15/25-years-frank-yallop-remembers-hillsborough-tragedy

25 years on, Frank Yallop remembers Hillsborough Tragedy
By Jeff Crandall


With the growth in popularity of the game in this country comes the higher knowledge of history, both good and bad, that surrounds the game we love.

Twenty-five years ago today, the Hillsborough disaster occurred in Sheffield, England, claiming the lives of 96 Liverpool FC supporters who attended the ground to see their club’s FA Cup semifinal clash with Nottingham Forest.

As has become standard worldwide, supporters of the two clubs were separated to prevent any incident, with Liverpool supporters being given the Leppings Lane Stand at the west side of the ground.

Access to the stand was only possible through a few ill-repaired turnstiles and led to serious overcrowding outside of the stadium prior to kickoff of the match. Looking to ease pressure on the entry way, officials ordered an exit gate to be opened, the path through which led to a standing section that was already overcrowded.

Crushing ensued as too many fans were located in the terraces and were pinned up against a barrier meant to keep fans off the pitch. The game actually didn’t even halt until the sixth minute when fans trying to escape the crush walked on to the field along with police who ordered the match to be postponed.

About an hour north of Sheffield, a 25-year-old Frank Yallop came on as a substitute in Ipswich Town’s 2-2 draw at Bradford City. Having led 2-1 at halftime, the result was a disappointing one for the Tractor Boys who dropped points to a Bradford City club below them in the Second Division table.

With the game kicking off at the same time as the cup semifinal though, Yallop and his teammates didn’t find out about the tragedy until after they’d come off the field at Valley Parade.

“It was terrible,” Yallop recalled to Chicago-Fire.com. “I just remember the images and panic on everyone’s faces. Seeing it on the news, it was really devastating to watch -- all they showed on TV was carrying people on the advertising boards to get care from the paramedics.”

Perhaps the news hit a bit closer to home for those that had just completed the match at Bradford City’s ground as four years earlier, it was the site of a fire that engulfed one entire stand during the final match of the 1984/85 season. That tragedy took the lives of 56, saw over 200 injured and was started by one lit cigarette discarded underneath the all-wooden stand.

The Bradford City fired occurred just weeks before another stadium crush in a match involving Liverpool occurred at the 1985 European Cup final at Heysel Stadium in Belgium. On that day, 39 people, most of which were supporters of Italian side Juventus, lost their lives and resulted in English clubs being banned from European competition indefinitely.

Perhaps in part because of the Heysel incident, many pointed the blame for the crush at Hillsborough on Liverpool supporters. Claims of drunkenness and fans without tickets trying to gain entry into the ground were bothgiven as contributing factors for the incident. In the end, the Taylor Report (published in 1990) found the main factor to Hillsborough to be failure of police control.

More recent inquiries from the Hillsborough Independent Panel exonerated Liverpool supporters of wrong doing in the incident, placing the blame squarely on public safety officials.

“It was sad because people had gotten to the game early to see a semifinal,” Yallop said. “From mistakes made by the police, 96 people lose their lives. It’s a tragic accident.”

The Taylor Report’s main recommendation saw stadiums in the UK made to be all-seater in order to make crowd control easier and safer, which greatly reduced the capacity of many stadiums in the country.

Twenty-five years on from Hillsborough, tributes from clubs and supporters around the world have poured in and tonight ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary series tackles the events at Hillsborough (7pm CT on ESPN). ESPN’s Keith Olbermann spoke to Director Daniel Gordon about the film on Monday:

[rwo power]

Today before the DFB-Pokal Semi Final Dortmund vs Wolfsburg:

[McAgger]

Heartbreaking this. Gerrard reading out his 10 year old cousins name broke me into tears. RIP 96. Gone but Never Forgotten.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/video/collections/home-hillsborough-25-years#17908

[McAgger]

Solidarity has no colors. Great thanks to the footballing world for such massive support. Amazing gestures from every corner of the globe. YNWA

[Swanhends]

Top 5 trending topic on twitter in the U.S within the first half hour. People over here are shocked.

[RedOranje]

Don't you dare.

[Red Alert]

Russell BrandVerified account ‏@rustyrockets ·19h
I got some money suing The S*n who lied about me. I am making a donation to the #JFT96 campaign. A tiny piece of justice.

[Kick]

I've got to say, I've never read much into this before today. It is shocking stuff.

How something like this could happen is beyond me.

[El Gunner]

Solidarity has no colors. Great thanks to the footballing world for such massive support. Amazing gestures from every corner of the globe. YNWA

My whatsapp picture and status has a tribute to Hillsborough as well if that counts for anything

[Kick]

Hillsborough inquests: David Duckenfield admits gate lie
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-31821211

The match commander on the day of the Hillsborough disaster has admitted he lied about fans forcing an exit gate open to enter the ground.

Relatives of the 96 fans who died gasped as David Duckenfield told the new inquests: "I apologise unreservedly to the families."

He said: "Everybody knew the truth, the fans and police knew the truth that we'd opened the gates."

Mr Duckenfield, 70, said he would regret the lie "to his dying day".

He was in charge of policing at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium on 15 April 1989 when a fatal crush developed in terraced pens allocated to Liverpool fans.

The court heard that on the day Mr Duckenfield told Graham Kelly, of the FA, that some fans had got in themselves through gate C, when the truth was that he had ordered the gate to be opened.

Christina Lambert QC, counsel for the inquests, said some witnesses have spoken of having a "clear recollection" that Mr Duckenfield "made reference to gates having been stormed".

He said he does not recall being as "dramatic" as that.

'Said something hurriedly'
Ms Lambert asked: "Did you appreciate that what you said and indeed, what you did not say, could or might bear that meaning to Mr Kelly and others?"

He replied: "Yes ma'am. I didn't give him sufficient information to appreciate the situation as it occurred."

Mr Duckenfield went on to say: "It was a situation I was totally untrained for, totally unprecedented, and I make no excuses. I was the man who did it. But I faced a difficult situation.

"I said something rather hurriedly, without considering the position, without thinking of the consequences and the trauma, the heartache and distress that the inference would have caused to those people who were already in a deep state of shock, who were distressed. I apologise unreservedly to the families."

He told the court that he had "no idea" what motivated him to lie.

Earlier, Mr Duckenfield said it was "one of the biggest regrets of his life" that he did not consider the consequences of opening the gate.

He said he was unaware that turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end fed into an inner concourse and that gate C was opposite a tunnel into the terraces.

Mr Duckenfield said he did not think before opening the gates about blocking the tunnel off with a line of police officers - as had happened in previous years.

The inquests heard he had not been aware that at 14:30, some 5,700 fans were still trying to enter the ground outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles because he did not know the club had a system for monitoring the supporters.

It meant 800 fans would have to go through each turnstile in 30 minutes to get in for kick-off.

Mr Duckenfield said he "accepted" this was "not going to happen".

'Open the gates'
Mr Duckenfield, who had been stationed in the police control box with a bank of TV monitors, said he was "shocked" at the request from Supt Roger Marshall to open the Leppings Lane gates after police became "overwhelmed" by the number of fans.

The witness continued: "I was shocked and taken aback by it and thinking, 'Where are these people going to go if I open the gates?"'

He said another message then came through on the police radio from Mr Marshall saying: "If we don't open the gates someone's going to get killed."

Mr Duckenfield said: "That really was a shocking, terrifying moment to feel you had got to that situation."

Another officer in the police box, Mr Bernard Murray, then said to him: "Are you going to open the gates?" the jury heard.

Mr Duckenfield said: "I remember saying to him quite clearly, Mr Murray, if people are going to die I have no option but to open the gates. Open the gates."

He said he thought fans would feel "relief and comfort" in being released from the crush of the turnstiles on to the concourse.

Kick-off delay
"I think it is fair to say it is arguably one of the biggest regrets of my life that I did not foresee where the fans would go when they came in through the gates," he continued.

"I was overcome by the enormity of the situation and the decision I had to make and, as a result of that, this is probably very hard to admit, as a result of that I was so overcome probably with emotion of us having got into that situation that my mind for a moment went blank."

Mr Duckenfield was questioned in front of about 200 relatives of those who died as a result of the disaster.

Ms Lambert asked him if he "should have taken steps" to delaying the start of the match.

He responded: "I accept that view now, ma'am".

Asked what he would have done had he known there were so many supporters waiting to enter, he replied: "I would have informed the club. I would have informed the referee that we had a difficulty arising and that on the evidence we had available, we should consider delaying the kick-off."

On the day of the match, police could only judge how full the pens in the terraces were by looking at CCTV and the terraces.

There were counters on the banks of turnstiles but these did not track how many people were going into each pen.

'Complete blank'
Earlier, Mr Duckenfield also told the jury he could not account for his movements for a period of more than two hours before he took up his position in the police control box on the afternoon of the semi-final.

He told the inquests his mind was "a complete blank" and he could only remember being taken "taken out" in a police car by a colleague and "we drove around".

Ms Lambert put it to Mr Duckenfield that this was a "significant period of time" and would have been a "golden opportunity" to get to know the ground better, on what was to be his first match as commander.

Mr Duckenfield agreed that it was, but said he could not recall whether it was an opportunity he had taken.

Ms Lambert also said it would have been a good opportunity for Mr Duckenfield to survey the turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end.

Again, Mr Duckenfield agreed.

He accepted it was "part of his job as a match commander to have a basic knowledge of the layout of the stadium".

Earlier the retired officer said he had urged police to ensure both sets of fans had "a good day out."

He wrote a briefing document for officers before the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, the jury was told.

In the note he said: "I cannot stress too highly the word safety. The ground will be full to capacity".

He recalled telling officers that "...it was supposed to be a wonderful occasion for both the Liverpool and Notts fans. They were to come along and enjoy themselves, and we, the police service, were to ensure that they had a good day out.

"We were to be tolerant, understanding of their enthusiasm, treat them with respect, and put ourselves forward as a professional and caring organisation".

The inquests continue.

[RedOranje]

Do NOT discuss opinion or anything other than reporting facts of the case until a verdict has been handed down.

[RealGunner]

#JFT96

[RedOranje]

As you go about your day today, please take spare a moment to remember those lost as well as their families still fighting for justice to this day.

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