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Liverpool fans hold scarves and flags during a memorial service to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster at Liverpool's Anfield stadium - Source: Reuters -
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More than 20,000 people packed into Liverpool's Anfield stadium
on Thursday to remember 96 football fans who were crushed to
death 20 years ago.
All the victims during the 1989 F.A. Cup semi-final between
Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, at the neutral Hillsborough ground
of Sheffield Wednesday, were supporters of Liverpool, one of
English soccer's most famous clubs.
The crowd sang the club's anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" and a
candle was lit for each victim in a memorial service attended by
members of the victims' families and past and present Liverpool
players.
Some in the crowd heckled a government minister as he tried to read
out a message from Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Many relatives
still believe the causes of the tragedy have not been properly
investigated.
"Obviously, it's an incredibly painful day for everybody here,"
Andy Burnham, the minister for culture, media and sport, said
later. "There are many unresolved issues."
Two-minute silences were held in Liverpool, Sheffield and
Nottingham at 3:06 p.m., the time the match was abandoned on April
15, 1989.
Families have been fighting for a fresh inquest to be held, unhappy
at the decision by the coroner at the original 1991 inquest to
limit the scope of his review. He said the victims were all
dead or fatally injured by 3:15 p.m. but the families argue that
cut-off meant they never discovered what happened to their
relatives and prevented an official probe into the emergency
services' response.
They also accuse police of a cover-up and of trying to place the
blame on supporters' behaviour.
Burnham urged the police and medics, as well as the local council,
to publish all material relating to the disaster to help families
discover what happened to their loved ones.
The disaster and subsequent inquiry led to the removal of fencing
at the front of stands and all-seater stadiums, changing the
culture of grounds and creating a safer if less boisterous
atmosphere at matches.
The families are angry nobody has been successfully prosecuted
despite an official report in 1989 criticising police for their
failure to control the situation.
"It is vital that we have transparency, for the families to know
they have been able to view all the information about the deaths of
their loved ones," Burnham said.
