While the Hillsborough disaster took place over 35 years ago, it is just as important today as it was in 1989 that the public know the true facts of what happened on the day and in the years since.
The Hillsborough disaster was the darkest day in the Liverpool FC’s history, as 97 supporters died as a result of a crush in the Leppings Lane end of the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
What happened?
On April 15, 1989, Liverpool played Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough in Sheffield.
Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed due to a crush on the terraces.
This happened as a result of supporters being directed down one tunnel into two overfilled central pens, while the outer pens were left sparsely populated.
After the disaster, the police tried to pin the blame on Liverpool fans. It took until 2016 for the court to recognise that Liverpool fans were not to blame for the disaster and they were instead unlawfully killed.
• More here: Hillsborough timeline
How many people were killed?
Ninety-seven fans were killed as a direct result of their injuries at Hillsborough.
In 1993, the 96th victim of Hillsborough, Tony Bland, died. The number remained at 96 until 2021, when Andrew Devine passed away after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage.
The coroner ruled that he had been unlawfully killed and he became the 97th person to officially die due to the disaster.
While 97 supporters officially passed away due to their injuries, an unquantifiable number of people have since died prematurely due to mental health problems associated to the disaster.
Every individual who died is remembered here.
Who was to blame for the disaster and deaths?
Liverpool fans were not to blame.
In 2016, the jury was then asked if there was any behaviour on the part of football supporters that may have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstile.
They replied, ‘No’.
Instead, the inquest found that a combination of police planning, police response, commanding officers’ decisions, Sheffield Wednesday FC, engineering firm Eastwood & Partners and ambulance response were all deemed to have played a part in causing the disaster or contributing to the loss of lives.
• More here: Hillsborough: The Truth – Facts about the disaster
Has anybody ever been prosecuted?
Only one individual has ever been successfully prosecuted for what happened at Hillsborough – the stadium safety officer, Graham Mackrell, was fined £6,500.
He failed to ensure there were enough turnstiles to prevent large crowds building up outside the Leppings Lane end of the ground.
In 2019, Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who ordered and subsequently lied about the opening of exit gate C – the gate opposite the tunnel to the overfilled pens – was found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.
Solicitor Peter Metcalf and retired police officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster were accused of altering police statements and helping to cover up police failings. Their trials collapsed on a technicality.
What about the Football Association?
The Football Association have faced scrutiny over their decision to use Hillsborough as the semi-final location despite safety issues in the past.
Files were handed to the Crown Prosecution Service on the FA and one of its officers in relation to the Safety of Sports Grounds Act and the Health and Safety at Work Act.
It was found that there was insufficient evidence to establish that any breach of the safety certificate could be placed on the responsibility the FA or its employees. It also concluded that the FA did not contribute to a material risk to safety.
Why do fans boycott the Sun newspaper?
The city of Liverpool and the club’s supporters have held a long-standing, successful boycott of the Sun newspaper, meaning it is almost impossible to buy in the city.
This boycott is in place due to the publication’s reporting of the Hillsborough disaster.
Not long after the events of April 15, 1989, the Sun published a front page with the headline, ‘The Truth’.
Beneath the headline were disgusting, blatant lies that dehumanised supporters and helped propagate the narrative South Yorkshire Police wanted to push, that drunken, ticketless fans were at fault and not the authorities.
This was, in absolutely no way, the case.
