The Hillsborough disaster of April 15th meant the FA Cup game was abandoned. At that point it wasn't even clear if the competition would even go ahead and just be scratched for the season. An announcement on April 30th confirmed it would continue. Liverpool secured their place in the Final. A little under two weeks prior to this Cup Final match, a 3-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest in the Semi Final was watched at Old Trafford by 38,000.
On April 15th 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, 96 Liverpool football fans went in through the turnstiles to watch their side in the FA Cup Semi Final and never came back out. With the hooligan and pitch invasion culture of the 1980's grounds back then were surrounded by fencing, and in Italy still are. The key to this disaster though was not the fencing alone, the fact that seating was not in stadiums and so people stood in pens was a major factor. There was bad planning on the part of the authorities, with the procedure for entry to the stadium for the fans. When dangerous overcrowding began outside the stadium there came an order to open an exit gate. This exit gate lead straight to the already full sections.
This meant a crush which resulted with some fans climbing over the fences and onto the pitch while others tried to climb up to the stand above. Six minutes into the game the fence fell, fans fell out and onto each other and the game was stopped. Advertising boards were used as makeshift stretchers and the ground transformed eventually turned into a makeshift morgue.
Five weeks later when two City rivals kicked off it was with heavy hearts. The fans of both Everton and Liverpool made it clear they wanted to go and so the game went ahead. Football did what football, and sport in general does, it distracts, entertains and brings a community together in a time of need but most of all, it heals the soul. There was a minutes silence before the game and both sides wore black armbands a familiar sign of respect. Whether Red or Blue that day I think it would be a very tough man who didn't shed a tear when Gerry Marsden, from Gerry and the Pacemakers, came on to lead the crowd in a rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. As a point of interest for the American fans, ex New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol was in the Liverpool side that day.
To the game now and Liverpool did take the lead through John Aldridge after just four minutes and held on until the last minute when Stuart McCall equalized sending the game into extra time. Ian Rush was on hand to score giving Liverpool the 2-1 advantage before McCall again levelled. Rush stepped up again just before the halfway point of extra time to make it 3-2 Liverpool and that would be how it ended.
Six days and two games later Liverpool would miss out on the League title on their own ground to Arsenal but after the emotion of the FA Cup what really did they have left in the tank?
The healing began on that Wembley pitch on a summers afternoon in London but justice would have to wait another two decades. Families were torn apart that day, two sisters, three pairs of brothers a father and son. Of all who died the large majority were under 30 years old. Some were about to become fathers and the youngest person to die was a ten year old who's cousin is Steven Gerrard, the now Liverpool Captain. Answers were sought but not given and initial misdirection led to the Liverpool fans being blamed. Police officials claimed the gates had been stormed by Liverpool fans and that was what led to the crush, and even the UEFA President called the Liverpool fans 'beasts'.
This blame along with the actual witnessing of events caused emotional and mental problems. Alcoholism, drug abuse and the collapse of numerous marriages followed and by the tenth anniversary in 1999, three survivors had committed suicide and another had completed years in psychiatric care.
September 12th, 2012 documents, previously hidden from the public arena, were released. 400,000 pages were looked over by the Hillsborough Independent Panel for 18 months previous who then constructed a report. The report was damming on the part of the authorities.
Today marks the 26th anniversary of the disaster, Liverpool are still in with a shout for another FA Cup Final. In Steven Gerrard's last season with the reds is there a more suitable way for the club captain to sign off?
Jason is a Freelance Soccer Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @PACityboy and www.facebook.com/jasonbardwell1979
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