2019-05-01_World_Soccer

(Ben W) #1

April 15, 1989 was the date of the
appalling Hillsborough disaster in which
so many lost their lives, but the aftermath
is still with us, and recently at Preston
Crown Court a jury failed to reach a
verdict on the alleged culpability of David
Duckenfield, the policeman in charge
of the operation in which a gate was so
disastrously opened and 96 fans died.
I thought, erroneously, that the matter
had long since been done and dusted.
My opinion has long been, and still
is, that Duckenfield has been the fall
guy, that the immediate blame may or
may not lie on him, but that others are
deeply to blame. Not least the Football
Association, who persisted in using the
Sheffield Wednesday ground for these
semi-finals when numerous supporters


responsible doubt for allowing
Hillsborough to be regularly used.
I find it deeply ironic that the only
figure brought to book, and now
threatened with severe consequences,
should be the former Wednesday
secretary Graham Mackrell, whom long
ago I knew and liked. Technically and
legally you could, I suppose, accuse him
in his former position of not ruling out
the use of the ground that day, but what
of his predecessors in the post? Arguably
they got away with the stadium’s serious
vulnerability but he had the misfortune to
be in office when the tragedy occurred.
Surely not without responsibility must
be the senior policeman who stood down
the officer previously in charge of the
operation, allegedly because there had
been some kind of indiscipline among
the officers he commanded.
To then give the role to Duckenfield
who had no experience in such matters
banished belief.
Will the disaster and its repercussions
ever go away?

Football Association officials were culpable for Hillsborough disaster


had spoken out against the dangers of
those particular terraces.
The FA officials responsible for such
laxity have long since left office, but
they are surely to blame beyond

THE VOICE OF FOOTBALL


Brian


GLANVILLE


Accused...Graham
Mackrell

Tragedy...the
horror unfolds

The Football Association persisted in using the
Sheffield Wednesday ground for these semi-finals
when numerous supporters had spoken out
against the dangers of those particular terraces

In charge...David
Duckenfield
Free download pdf