Q6: Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those that died in the disaster were unlawfully killed? Yes or No YES
Those of us who remember this kind of cattle pen crush at football grounds will be thankful that we survived places like the Victoria Ground. When we played that cup tie at Stoke and people just poured in, and kept pouring in, it became a dangerous situation. I had got there quite early and positioned myself on the half way line, at the back of that terracing. Not long after the start the crush was getting unbearable but, as far as I know, nobody was seriously hurt. We were lucky. Those at Hillsborough were not. As far as I am concerned there is blame on all sides. To totally exonerate the Liverpool fans is a nonsense. Thousands of them tried to force their way into places where there was no room for any more. Obviously the police should have stopped them getting into those central pens, but they didn't so that they are culpable for that error. Opening the exit gates and letting them surge in was another error, but what about the idea of getting to a football ground in good time? If you choose to delay your arrival, for whatever reason, you have no right to get in for kick off time when the crowd is so big. Obviously some will have arrived late through no fault of their own but come on - we all know that many just think they can pitch up at ten to three and get in. But surely people have to take responsibility for their own actions. Any sensible person coming up against a solid wall of people would NOT try to force their way through them. Plenty obviously did, with a tragic conclusion.
It's almost as if the independent jurors, listened to ALL the actual evidence these past two years, as opposed to folk following their own agendas.
That Stoke game - we got there late due to the police holding us back - and then we tried to push into (what we didn't know was) an already crowded terrace because the police on duty encouraged that. If (God forbid) Barnsley fans had been injured/killed on the terraces that day who was to blame ?
Who are you calling fans ? The minority who did this at matches all over the country whatever club they supposedly represented or the majority who were safely(or so they thought ) inside the ground when a POLICE officer decided to open the gates and unleashed hell on them
Yes, I know that the police do these things to convoys of coaches. Seems pretty stupid to me and luckily I have always been an independent traveler to away games, so have not been caught up in this kind of thing. Some do turn up deliberately late though just so they can get one more pint down their necks, and this can lead to avoidable trouble. You'll never be able to stop this though. I go to football to watch the match, not to drink beforehand. It's my choice, and it means I am usually in the ground in good time. That situation at Stoke was downright dangerous. I was crushed against the back wall within about ten minutes of the game kicking off and there was nowhere to go to escape it. Had a few hundred more jammed into that area we could have had serious casualties. It was a warm early spring day and I remember that I could hardly get my breath. I'm six feet tall. How did kids cope that day?
Was at that game and there was loads of little ones there and some were frightened to death. The fact that there are some absolute scumbags follow football teams our included doesn't mean they are responsible for my or your safety . Its the police,club local authorities job to decide these events can go ahead in relative safety and to manage them accordingly. The fact they failed with all the facilities ,equipment,manpower and hindsight is negligent IMO. Apparently these concerns along with the penning in of fans were a concern with safety officials long before Hillsborough and even Bradford , if the Police were as concerned with ticketless ,drunk fans etc and couldn't guarantee peoples safety the events should not have taken place ,alas money is always king whatever the safety issues.
Some of you still even partially blaming the fans should be ashamed of yourselves. They've been cleared in court. It is the football club & the polices responsibility that the capacity is not exceeded. Of course fans are going to try to get in, it's a cup semi final. What's next? Are we going to start blaming Syrian's for getting on a boat to cross the Mediterranean when it's already full?
Why did we need the cattle pens in the first place. Oh because of the hooligans/fans. Absolute tragedy what happened that day and clearly the fault lies with the security services on duty that day, however without the hooligan fans (of which Liverpool had their share) there would have been no requirement for the cattle pens thus meaning the crowd could have gone onto the pitch, therefore, it's wrong to say the fans were blameless, in my opinion anyway.
(Taken from the BBC) QUESTION 7: Behaviour of the supporters Was there any behaviour on the part of the football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles? Yes or no. No. Was there any behaviour on the part of the football supporters which may have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles? Yes or no. No. None of what you have written relates to the behaviour of the fans on the day and yet you still seem to be blaming them. Bizarre.
The Liverpool fans attending Hillsborough were not to blame for the events of that day. For the bigger picture, fences were erected to combat the hooligans. Unfortunately, I and all other fans who simply wanted to watch our club were lumped in with these scum by the Government of the time & the media.