It all started so brightly, sun shining, people laughing, enjoying a friendly drink before heading to the Hillsborough stadium to watch the match. Liverpool v Nottingham Forest. It promised to be a fantastic match.
This all went downhill very quickly. Outside the ground, because of the number of Liverpool fans trying to get into the stadium, it was already getting very overcrowded. Already, it was a very dangerous matter which needed dealing with by the police.
They decided, (but would later lie about) to open a gate to allow the fans straight into the stadium. The infamous "Gate C". This would turn out to be the single worst decision ever made by the policeman in charge that day. David Duckenfield.
Through these massive failings in the police and a total breakdown in the management of the Liverpool fans, more and more supporters were let into the Leppings Lane end of the Hillsborough stadium. There were no officers directing the fans to anywhere, so the fans went straight into the middle pens, which were becoming fuller and fuller.
Because of the football hooliganism that was common in Britain at the time, the front of the pens were surrounded by fencing to stop would be hooligans from getting onto the pitch, or fighting with other fans.
As hundreds of Liverpool fans were allowed into the already overcrowded pens, they began to squash together, pushing those in front of them further forward towards the fence. Those at the front, were being crushed.
As the game began at 3:00, it was clear to the Liverpool fans in the pens that this was getting very dangerous. They tried in vain to attract the attention of the police, but they did nothing.
At 3:06 the referee called a halt to the game as Liverpool fans climbed over the fence and were helped up onto the stand above them to escape the crush. Some even managed to break through the metal fence to get out.
People died standing up. They were so compacted in the crush that they couldn't breathe. Men, women and children were tragically crushed to death.
Those lucky enough to escape the pens were soon on the pitch, fighting for breath.
At this point Police were still trying to stop the Liverpool fans getting any further on the pitch. They set up a cordon halfway down the pitch to stop the fans. Liverpool fans tried desperately to carry their injured friends to the ambulances outside the stadium. Some fans were even pushed back into the pens as they tried to escape, the police were so preoccupied with crowd control, they failed to see that people were dying. They were so worried about "crowd control" they didnt care about "crowd safety".
Liverpool fans tried to save those that had been crushed. They carried stricken fans on advertising boards, they did CPR, desperately trying to save peoples lives. They pleaded with the police to break from their cordon and help them but most were trying to stop them from getting to the Nottingham Forest supporters and did nothing. They stood and watched people die.
Only one ambulance managed to get into the stadium. the Police, along with the poor layout of the stadium, stopped the other 44 from entering.
95 people lost their lives that day. Friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers. Some as young as 10 were tragically crushed to death. Only 14 of those ever got to hospital. In 1993 the deathtoll had reached 96 as Tony Bland, aged just 22 passed away in hospital.
What a tragic loss of life. 96 people went to watch a football match, never came home.
Ill always remember a story i read several years back. John Aldridge ( a player for Liverpool at the time) went to the hospital to visit a young fan who was there after the crush. He was sadly in a coma, but John leant down to him and said "When you wake up, and you get better, we are going to get you tickets to Anfield and show you all round the place, anything you want". He paid his respects to the family and wished them well.
As he was leaving, he asked the doctor when they thought he would be better. The doctor replied "Im afraid we are switching off his life support machine today". John broke down in tears later that day.
Such a devastating story, but only one of hundreds from that awful day. Each one a story of tragedy, loss and negligence.
Kenny Dalglish made sure that someone representing Liverpool football club was present at each of the 96 funerals, he himself attended many, sometimes multiple ones in the same day. It really hurt Dalglish, so much so that in 1991, he resigned from his post as manager of Liverpool.
The biggest tragedy in British footballing history happened on that fateful Aprils afternoon. But what happened afterwards was almost as shocking as the policing failures that led to it.
The following Wednesday, The Sun newspaper, under the ownership of Rupert Murdoch, and edited by Kelvin Mackenzie, published their paper with the headline "THE TRUTH", followed by three sub headlines of "Some fans picked pockets of victims", "Some fans urinated on the brave cops" and "Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life".
These disgusting, malicious, slanderous accusations were published as "truth" by the Sun across Britain.
Not even a week since 95 innocent people lost their lives and a tabloid newspaper falsely throws out purposely fabricated lies in order to smear the people and fans of Liverpool.
It's disgusting. To make a mistake in reporting is understandable, but to deliberately lie about the death of 95 people for no other reason than to degrade the people of Liverpool is unforgivable.
This sparked outrage across Merseyside. People all across the city boycotted the newspaper and newsagents refused to stock it. Angry Liverpudlians burned copies of the paper in the street. This boycott still rages today in Liverpool, and to a lesser extent across the country.
Kelvin Mackenzie has never fully apologised for his story. He said: "I was not sorry then and I'm not sorry now" for the paper's coverage. Disgraceful.
This is a man who lied about football fans abusing the dead, a man who slandered a group of supporters who had tried in vain to save the lives of their fellow brothers and sisters. Who used the biggest footballing tragedy in britain to sell some extra newspapers. Words cannot describe how disgusting, how soulless this man is.
As if the loss of 96 innocent people and the lies and slander of a national newspaper wasn't enough for the people of Liverpool, there was more set to come.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to carry out an inquest into what happened on that day. His interim report said that a failure of police control was what had caused the crush in the central pens.
The disaster happened because most of the fans entering the terraces headed for the central pens 3 and 4 as directed by the large notice pointing them that way above the tunnel. Normally a police officer or steward would direct fans away from full pens, but on that day this did not happen. There were no stewards in that area at all.
Those officers responsible for organising the police operation that day, David Duckenfield and Bernard Murray, were never brought to justice. Several officers were also accused of manipulating evidence and attempting to cover up police failings.
No one has ever been held accountable for the deaths of those 96 Liverpool fans. The brave families still fight on for Justice. it's been 22 long years but their resolve has never been stronger. they struggle through the unfair and often corrupt legal system to try and bring those responsible to be held accountable for their actions that led to the disaster.
Such is the scale of the disaster, there is literally too much for me to comment fully on, the awful way the bereaved families were treated, the inadequacy and cover ups of the police force, the prejudice of the courts and media and the heartbreaking stories of the families. So I would like to direct you to the excellent website: http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough/history/buildup1.shtm
It has the full story of the Hillsborough disaster, it is an excellently put together history of it and I implore you to take a read through it.
This Friday, the 15/4/2011, marks the 22nd anniversary of the disaster. 22 years on since 96 people needlessly died. 22 years without justice.
On Friday I will be stood on the Kop at Anfield, but I won't be cheering on my beloved Liverpool football team. I will be stood alongside 10,000 fellow reds as we mourn the loss of our 96 brothers and show our support to the families still seeking justice.
Please, even if you aren't a football supporter, take a moment out of your day on the 15th to think about the tragic loss of 96 men, women and children. The 96 reds that never came home.
"Justice for the 96."
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