2019-05-01_World_Soccer

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