Justice

"Gone but never forgotten", it's strong and powerful statement that epitomises the loss of 96 lives, 27 years ago at Hillsborough. For over two decades, families of the deceased had to live with the fact that not only would they never see their loved ones again but the government labelled them at fault for their own plight. Mocked over the years for this exact reason, it was never something that sat well with the supporters of the club nor the affected families. Finally 27 years later, through persistances by selected individuals and pressure by supporters, justice and digitnity was restored for the 96 who tragically lost their lives. 

The jury in the Hillsborough inquest yesterday concluded that the 96 were unlawfully killed that day. A massive police cover up both locally and nationally in England put the blame souly on the fans of Liverpool Football Club that day, and in stead of helping those in need, police were slack in allowing emergency personell in the stadium to assist those who could have been saved. It was one of the most tragic disasters in football, one that rocked the world and enforced strict rules to fans seating that are practicsed till today. For the families of the 96, they can now finally rest, knowing that their loved ones names have been cleared and the final piece of the puzzle is for those who were to blame, are to be punished accordingly. 

             

Belief is back

If you're a Liverpool supporter like myself, your nerves are still probably tingling from last nights result against Dortmund in the Europa League. The famed "European Nights at Anfield" were back and even though it wasn't in the continents premier competition, it still provided probably one of the most memorable matches in recent times and will surely go down as one of the greats. Jurgen Klopp's Red Army set their sights on reaching the semi-finals of the competition after securing a 1 all draw in Germany the week before, having the comfort of an away goal, it seemed like the match at Anfield was set to be a tight one for the home team to scruff out a tame result that would see them progress but as history would tell you, Liverpool never do things the easy way and so ensued one of the greatest comebacks seen this decade in Europe. 

Now being a Liverpool supporter of recent, you not sure what team is going to show up on the pitch that day and last night was more of the same. Dortmund came out firing, and after 8 minutes, they put 2 goals past our lackluster defence and they were looking set to progress but there was something about last night, there was this feeling of confidence around, not just at Anfield but in the streets of Liverpool , also with the commemoration of the Hillsborough disaster which occurred today 27 years ago, and the crowds filling the cities streets with red before the game. Origi slotted in a goal shortly after the half time break and it was game on! With our tails up we began to attack again, only for us to be caught out on a counter and Marco Reus slotting in Dortmund's 3rd to silence Anfield once again. 

Now on must occasions I would concede defeat, but I didn't, neither did the crowd and neither did the team and one has got to hail the difference that the German manager has made to the team and the players, instilling them with confidence and making it known that the game isn't over until the final whistle. We saw the heroics that transpired at Carrow Road where Adam Lallana scored a dramatic winner in the last minute of the game so with that, the team kept on going, even though we needed to score 3 more goals to ensure the result in our favour. Coutinho who was struggling for most of the game struck and from then on, you just knew you were about to witness something special. 

The fight from then on must have felt like an eternity for the Dortmund players as Liverpool were relentless. The all round belief that the team could get 2 more goals were achievable and that's the kind of belief we had 10 years ago with Benitez, Klopp had manged to bring that back and for me that's one of the greatest feelings ever. Knowing that no matter what the scoreline, the team won't give up and do their level best to get a result. As a supporter there's nothing more you can ask for from your team than that. What transpired there-of will be noted in the history of the Europa League as once of the greatest come backs in a knock-out stage but the work isn't done yet. We still have the semi-finals and possibly the finals to come and we going to need a lot more of that belief to get us through. 

Respect for the 96

It's been 25 years, of heart break, pain, suffering and more importantly, fighting for justice, justice for the 96 people who were killed on that day, the 15th of April 1989. You've heard the stories, read the articles and seen the pictures of what transpired at Hillsborough but still to this day the families of the fallen are seeking the truth. Their fight is ongoing and they have the full support of the club and many fans from around the world. This blog post isn't one to highlight what happened that day but I felt the need to write this to educate the few who seem to not realise the significance of it all. 

I'm an avid twitter user and I follow some fans of the opposition, there's always banter going about and given Liverpool's resurgence in the Premier League, its gotten a bit heated from time to time but I don't mind that, what I do mind is them picking on the club about this day. I saw comments such as "always the victim" and "what about Munich" doing the rounds. Let's get one thing straight, this isn't about who's tragedy was more important. All tragedies are deemed that because they are, tragic, it's sad to see certain members of the opposing fans thinking this is a competition. Yes, this one does generate the most interest in the press and media, firstly because the case is still on going to find out the truth, secondly this tragic event hit the footballing association world wide and enforced changes that are still applied to the modern game. 

It's because of Hillsborough, football globally had to re-look safety measures for fans in stadiums. It is because of Hillsborough, standing terraces were banned and only all seated stadiums were deemed legal for clubs. It is because of Hillsborough, policing at grounds on games day were jacked up and better training for emergency situations were implemented. It is because of Hillsborough, we are able to enjoy football games in an environment that is safe for everyone. The consequences of the 96 lives that were lost, served as a catalyst to make the game safer for the paying fan, who knows how many other accidents were prevented because of these changes. 

So you see, as much as it does affect the club, this day in history affects football worldwide. Coming back to Munich, yes that air disaster that killed 23 passengers on the plane that was carrying the famed Busby Babes was tragic and should be honoured in its own right, one cannot compare it to Hillsborough simply because of the differences between the two disasters. Nothing was changed after that plane crash in terms of air safety or in football and as sad as it was, it was an accident. The people who died in that flight deserve respect and not made to be in comparison to anyone else. 

In the same way each and every member of the 96 that died at Hillsborough deserve respect as well. They left home to watch a football game and never returned home, then made out to be the cause of the accident and labelled as criminals and drunks by the media and police. For 25 years their families have been fighting to clear the names of the innocent deceased and subsequently the Hillsborough Inquiry began in March of this year. For all those years, justice finally seems to be coming for those who loss their lives that day and hopefully bring peace to the families affected. 

The out pouring messages of support came in from all over this weekend and today with various clubs and supporters of other clubs showing their solidarity with Liverpool FC and the families because they know, it could have been anyone, it could have been them. So I urge each and every football fan out there, no matter which team you support, no matter what tragedies you or your club have incurred, have some respect for the 96, because of them, we are now enjoying a safer experience at stadiums all over the world.

You'll Never Walk Alone

The truth about the 96

Its been in the news for the past week and has been the focal talking point in much of the Premier League fixtures this past weekend. The fans and people of Liverpool always knew the truth but lies and cover ups said otherwise. For over 23 years the families and friends of the victims of that tragic day in Sheffield fought for justice and the truth, last week their pleas were finally heard and documents containing the truth were made public for the first time. These documents proved what was always said, a large scale cover up by the police of the incident that claimed 96 innocent lives on the 15 of April 1989. Its also went to show that of the 96 deceased, 41 could have been saved had the police allowed rescue workers into the stadium. It was the largest footballing tragedy in the UK and it changed football in general forever as the English FA then put a ban on terraces in all stadiums as they had to be 100% seated for crowd control and general safety.

After the news broke about the revelations, tributes and apologies came pouring in to the club and the families, one the firsts were from Sheffield Wednesday FC whom it was at their stadium, Hillsborough that the incident occurred. Football clubs and fans took it upon themselves to show solidarity towards the fallen. Many paid tribute at the eternal flame at Anfield and during the weekends fixtures some of the clubs played the famous "You'll never walk alone" before kick off. Its wasn't just in the UK as clubs in France, Italy and even Texas paid tribute.

It wasn't a requirement for them to do that but it was done out of their own hearts, so it wasn't expected from everyone but welcomed from those who did. Obviously with some clubs there are great rivalries but even at a time like this that was forgotten as shown in the fixture between Everton and Newcastle where before the kick off at Goodison Park, YNWA was played over the loud speaker. Now hate to single out a club and put blame on them and their supporters but certain fans of Man Utd were caught chanting "always the victim/ its never your fault" aimed at LFC during their game against Wigan on the weekend. It was condemned by the club and Sir Alex, my question is why? Fine they claimed it has nothing to do with Hillsborough but why sing about Liverpool in the first place? Yes we don't see eye to eye in most cases but why go on and sing that? What good did it do? After years of suffering from the lies, and now that the truth is out they still had the nerve to say that?

From Napoli

I think people need to draw the line when comes to these things, yes there's football but also real life. People were killed, they were fans just like them going to watch their team play but never returned home. Its because of their loss of life that safety measures have been bettered for us today yet they chose to mock them. Im not saying its only the fans of United to blame because I've heard that supporters of LFC also mock United by chanting "Munich" which hails back to the tragic planes crash where members of the Busby babes died. Also on twitter I saw many United fans arguing why they shouldn't pay tribute to the 96 and how those who do are not true supporters. I tell you what, the first Manchester United fan to stand up and sing YNWA will have the greatest respect from me.

The two teams meet this weekend for their fixture in the English Premiership and I just hope things don't turn nasty. For far too long supporters of the two clubs have been embroiled in this stubborn feud that's seen some nasty things being said about each other, its time for one or both to stand up and be the bigger person and stop this once and for all. Alex Ferguson said it himself, the clubs have done what they can, its up to the fans now.

In memory of the 96, the truth has been revealed, now its time for justice.

You'll Never Walk Alone