This weekend will see fixtures in the top eight levels of football kick-off seven minutes later than usual. This is to respect the 96 fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster, which occured 25 years ago.
What happened?
94 Liverpool fans lost their lives in a crush at a FA Cup semi-final match between the Anfield club and their opponents that day, Nottingham Forest, with two more fans losing their lives following the disaster (total death toll of 96). The match was abandoned after six minutes, and replayed later that season.
How did it happen?
Roughly 2-3 thousand Liverpool fans supporters gathered outside the Leppings Lane stand, with worn out turnstiles meaning entry to the ground was slow that day. With ten minutes until kick-off, pens 3 and 4 of the lower terrace was full up (capacity of 1600 but 2200 fans were filled). One of the gates behind the stand was opened to help speed up entry and to limit the crushing outside. With the teams entering, fans began to get crushed in pens 3 and 4. Fans continued to get crushed for the next five minutes with a crush barrier breaking, causing fans to fall over. Some fans began getting dragged to safety by other fans in the top tiers. Sources suggest 700-odd fans were injured by 15:06 with 96 fans fatally injured. The match was abandoned by the officials.
How did the disaster change football?
Football clubs were 'ordered' to make grounds safer by making them installed seating in all stands, giving the name 'All-seater Stadiums'. Under Football League regulations and rules, clubs must follow a criteria, subject to paragraph 1.4: "1.4 Each Championship Club shall with effect from the start of Season 2012/13 (or with effect from the start of its third Season in the Championship if later) only admit spectators to seated accommodation, and there shall be no standing terraces." Crowd control fences, which stopped pitch invasions that took place in the 1970s and 1980s, were removed for safety reasons
How has it been remembered / how will it be remembered this weekend?
Every season, around this weekend, has seen clubs and teams hold a minute's silence prior to kick-off. A minute's silent was held during Liverpool's FA Cup final with Everton, too.
This season will see fixtures in the Premier League, Football League, Football Conference and many non-league divisions participate in a later kick-off time, as announced by the FA, for the 25th anniversary. Games with 3:00pm and non-3:00pm kick-off will kick out seven minutes with a minute's silence held by grounds at 3:06pm. Liverpool's players will wear special kits with badges saying "Never Forgotten, 25 years"
Former Ipswich and Liverpool player John Wark will carry a commemorative shirt ahead of Ipswich's match with Doncaster.
The FA Cup Semi-Finals at Wembley this weekend will see 96 seats which won't be sat on as a tribute.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits everyone associated with the club is still deeply affected by the disaster and he welcomed the opportunity to pay tribute to those who died when they play Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. Everton boss Roberto Martinez has backed the later kick-off.
Louis' view:
"I feel it will be a fitting tribute to see fixtures kick-off later. I think its nice how games in the non-league world are getting involved in tributes, which will see all of the footballing world come together to remember this horrific event- one which will hopefully never be seen again. Today will be an emotional day for everybody linked with Sheffield Wednesday (Hillsborough stadium owners), Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (Liverpool's opponents in that FA Cup fixture), and the families of the victims. I feel the police made a shocking decision to open the gate (Gate C), and had poor crowd control which lead to several crushes (both outside and within the ground). I'm glad the FA and other organisations learned from this tragedy. The victims will never be forgotten by everyone in the footballing world. This will be an emotional day for all."
-Louis Byers, blog editor.
What happened?
94 Liverpool fans lost their lives in a crush at a FA Cup semi-final match between the Anfield club and their opponents that day, Nottingham Forest, with two more fans losing their lives following the disaster (total death toll of 96). The match was abandoned after six minutes, and replayed later that season.
How did it happen?
Roughly 2-3 thousand Liverpool fans supporters gathered outside the Leppings Lane stand, with worn out turnstiles meaning entry to the ground was slow that day. With ten minutes until kick-off, pens 3 and 4 of the lower terrace was full up (capacity of 1600 but 2200 fans were filled). One of the gates behind the stand was opened to help speed up entry and to limit the crushing outside. With the teams entering, fans began to get crushed in pens 3 and 4. Fans continued to get crushed for the next five minutes with a crush barrier breaking, causing fans to fall over. Some fans began getting dragged to safety by other fans in the top tiers. Sources suggest 700-odd fans were injured by 15:06 with 96 fans fatally injured. The match was abandoned by the officials.
How did the disaster change football?
Football clubs were 'ordered' to make grounds safer by making them installed seating in all stands, giving the name 'All-seater Stadiums'. Under Football League regulations and rules, clubs must follow a criteria, subject to paragraph 1.4: "1.4 Each Championship Club shall with effect from the start of Season 2012/13 (or with effect from the start of its third Season in the Championship if later) only admit spectators to seated accommodation, and there shall be no standing terraces." Crowd control fences, which stopped pitch invasions that took place in the 1970s and 1980s, were removed for safety reasons
How has it been remembered / how will it be remembered this weekend?
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| Never Forgotten: A special Ipswich Town shirt produced to remember the 96 victims. |
This season will see fixtures in the Premier League, Football League, Football Conference and many non-league divisions participate in a later kick-off time, as announced by the FA, for the 25th anniversary. Games with 3:00pm and non-3:00pm kick-off will kick out seven minutes with a minute's silence held by grounds at 3:06pm. Liverpool's players will wear special kits with badges saying "Never Forgotten, 25 years"
Former Ipswich and Liverpool player John Wark will carry a commemorative shirt ahead of Ipswich's match with Doncaster.
The FA Cup Semi-Finals at Wembley this weekend will see 96 seats which won't be sat on as a tribute.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits everyone associated with the club is still deeply affected by the disaster and he welcomed the opportunity to pay tribute to those who died when they play Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. Everton boss Roberto Martinez has backed the later kick-off.
Louis' view:
"I feel it will be a fitting tribute to see fixtures kick-off later. I think its nice how games in the non-league world are getting involved in tributes, which will see all of the footballing world come together to remember this horrific event- one which will hopefully never be seen again. Today will be an emotional day for everybody linked with Sheffield Wednesday (Hillsborough stadium owners), Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (Liverpool's opponents in that FA Cup fixture), and the families of the victims. I feel the police made a shocking decision to open the gate (Gate C), and had poor crowd control which lead to several crushes (both outside and within the ground). I'm glad the FA and other organisations learned from this tragedy. The victims will never be forgotten by everyone in the footballing world. This will be an emotional day for all."
-Louis Byers, blog editor.