English teams to kick-off 7 minutes late to mark 25th Hillsborough anniversary

All matches in the Premier League. other lower divisions and FA Cup matches on the weekend of April 11-14 will be delayed by seven minutes to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

96 Liverpool fans lost their lives in 1989 at Hillsborough when they were crushed by a crowd surge at the stadium.

The FA and the Leagues released a joint statement which read, “The match at which the disaster took place, The FA Cup Semi-Final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989, was ended six minutes after kick-off, at 3:06pm.

“The first FA Cup Semi-Final on Saturday 12 April between Wigan Athletic and Arsenal will now kick-off at 5.07pm with a minute of silence between 5:06pm and 5:07pm.

“The following day, Sunday 13 April, will see Hull City v Sheffield United begin at 4.07pm with a minute of silence between 4:06pm and 4:07pm.

“In the Premier League, Football League and Football Conference, matches due to kick-off at 3pm on Saturday 12 April will now kick off at 3:07pm, with the minute before kick-off (3:06pm to 3:07pm) seeing a period of silence observed at all grounds.

“Fixtures kicking-off at other times on Friday 11, Saturday 12, Sunday 13 and Monday 14 April will observe the same etiquette with matches starting seven minutes later than originally scheduled.”