The Hillsborough Disaster
Pre-Conditions and Vulnerabilities
This game was for the FA Cup Semi-Final, which is a big couple in English soccer. Liverpool is a very well known club and has many supporters, and the field that the game was being held on, was not the largest of stadiums to hold the capacity of what Liverpool was used to at Anfield. But the reason for the disaster really came down to poor execution by the police force at the game, they then made it worse by denying that they were to blame for the disaster.
The Story
On April 15, 1989 the
worst disaster in soccer took place. The game was between Liverpool and
Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, England. The entry
at the stadium was only possible via one of the seven gates. Police Chief
Superintendent, David Duckenfield ordered an exit gate to be opened. The opened
exit gate led to a tunnel which then led to already overcrowded enclosures,
which cause the crushing of the fans. The crush barrier then broke and the fans
began to fall on top of each other. The game only lasted six minutes. When the
FA chairman visited the control box to find out what had happened, Duckenfield
lied and told him that the fans opened the gate.
96 Deaths
766 Injured| Age Range | Total | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-19 | 38 | 36 | 2 |
| 20-29 | 40 | 36 | 4 |
| 30-39 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| 40-49 | 3 | 3 | - |
| 50-59 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 60-69 | 2 | 2 | - |
| Totals | 96 | 89 | 7 |
Post Disaster
There was a service at the Hillsborough stadium for the victims and their families. There was also a disaster appeal fund that was set up as well. After the first week the fund raised about £1 million. After that they kept getting more money, and ended up with a total of £12 million raised.
All 96 victims pictures (below)
Many people were angry about this and wanted all stadiums to make sure that something like this doesn't happen ever again. Teams funded money into making their stadiums more supportive so that this would not happen to any of them or ever again. As of right now we aren't seeing any problems of this nature with the fans but it could happen again.
