Hillsborough's legacy

‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.’- Bill Shankly

This oft-quoted statement by the legendary manager Bill Shankly is used to summarize the fanatical nature of football fans who obsessively follow their chosen team. Most of us who fans who anxiously wait during the summer window for the season to begin, celebrate every goal, every tackle during the season and mourn every defeat, every major injury will agree with the great man.

I used to take great pride in the fact that my club’s legendary manager had made this statement, never really understanding the emotions he placed behind this statement, emotions that never really presented themselves until I began to hear the stories of the families of Liverpool fans who experienced the worst stadium related disaster in British history, Hillsborough.

On 15th April 1989, Liverpool Football Club were drawn against the Nottingham Forest F.C in the Semi Finals of the F.A Cup. The neutral venue chosen by the F.A was Hillsborough stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. At 2:30 p.m a large gathering had assembled outside the stadium waiting to get in, and even more fans were rushing to the stadium due to the delay caused by unannounced roadworks. By 3:06 p.m, 94 fans had lost their lives, over 700 had been injured due to administrative failure.

The next day, “The Sun” published a full feature on the disaster, spewing vicious propaganda against the fans of Liverpool F.C and accusing them of causing the disaster, a notion which spread like wildfire across the country.

These charges have since been disproven by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, and the truth regarding a massive cover up by the administration has been exposed. But the subject of my article is not one where I lay into the administrative powers that be for their role in the disaster, and the subsequent hurt they have caused to the supporters of my club. My article aims to bring out the incredible stories of bravery, perseverance and compassion of not just the supporters of Liverpool, but of Everton, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Celtic, Manchester United, Blackburn, Chelsea and football fans in general.

If you visit the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield, Liverpool you will see a sea of Blue scarves and flowers from the supporters of traditional rivals Everton, who stood by Liverpool in their time of need, for the 96 who died were their friends and family too. The vigil held on Wednesday saw Everton supporters join hands with Liverpool supporters in honouring the memory of the victims. Celtic Football Club, who share our anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, presented us with one a banner espousing exactly that belief; we fans will never walk alone, no matter which club we support. Football transcends borders, and this was proven when the fans of A.C Milan broke into a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in 1989 during their European Cup Semi Final match against Real Madrid.

Football was changed forever by the tragedy of Hillsborough; stadium’s became all seaters. Liverpool saw the birth of one of its greatest every players in Steven Gerrard, who was inspired by the tragedy to lead his boyhood clubs to greater heights and to this day regards the loss of his cousin, John Paul in the tragedy to be the single most influential moment of his life. Margaret Aspinall has spent 23 years fighting to clear the name of her loved ones, accused of heinous acts, never giving up even after the abuse she suffered.

Bill Shankly was right. Football is about more than life and death. It is a source of strength, a sense of belonging, a belief that we’re a part of something larger, and that we will never walk alone.