Hillsborough Disaster: Goof-ups, Cover-ups and a long wait!

In what was one of the biggest goof-ups by the English police, not only did they do little to rescue the choking and dying Liverpool supporters crushing (and vomiting to death) against each other and the fence at Hillsborough Football Stadium in Sheffield that fateful April afternoon of 1989, but strangely they didn’t even allow 43 of the 44 ambulances waiting outside from entering the stadium. As if that wasn’t enough, post the incident, they shifted the blame to the fans for the disaster accusing them of rioting and looting under the influence of alcohol. Indeed turning out to be one of the biggest and shameful cover-ups in British history, supported by an irresponsible editor of a leading tabloid, perhaps to sell a few extra copies.

For 23 years, the families of the 96 victims carried the burden of ridiculous false allegations that their "drunken and ill-mannered" sons/daughters/husbands/wives were responsible for their own crushing deaths that afternoon. Although they painfully fought for justice all these years, and even as the independent panel vindicated the fans from all blame, one wonders how much of that can make-up for all that the families went through for these two decades! The period between 1989 to 2012 was far from 'getting over and move on' for many of these folks. Some had to live through the burden. Some committed suicide. Some became mentally unstable. Some marriages collapsed. All of them had one less loved one in their families.

At 10, Jon-Paul Gilhooley was the youngest person to die at Hillsborough. His death and the tragedy inspired his cousin to lead his boyhood team and later, reach the highest level in club and world football- a certain Liverpool legend by the name Steven Gerrard! Stevie G though, undoubtedly, would have traded his entire career for a peaceful and eventless 15^th April 1989!