This Saturday, April 15, 1989, in Sheffield, was to be a day of passion as England loves it. At Hillsborough Stadium, Liverpool Football Club faced Nottingham Forrest in the semi-final of the national "Cup". At 3 p.m. kick-off. Fans of both teams roar with joy. The local authorities are not calm. The supporters of the "Reds" of "Liv'pool" then drag the worst reputation in football. The drama of Heysel was them. In 1985, Anfield hooligans stormed against the tifosi of Juventus of Turin, during the final of the Champions Clubs Cup, in Brussels. The crowd movement left 39 dead, more than 600 injured, and exposed the plague running through the spans of European football stadiums.

Four years later, the club has cleaned up but the Yorkshire police believe they see a pack of drunken brutes arriving. In reality, it is about lambda supporters, sober, in family for some, and impatient. Several buses, stuck in traffic jams, arrive at Hillsborough a few minutes after the start of the match. The stewards try to control this sudden flood, then panic and open the floodgates. The supporters rush into a corridor leading to the lower stand, devoid of seats. We no longer check places, we no longer count entries. The grandstand is quickly full, the first rows are pressed against the railings. Trampled, suffocated, 94 people lost their lives. Four days later, 14-year-old Lee Nicol succumbed to his injuries. Tony Bland, after four years in a vegetative state, will be the 96th victim.

In the days that followed, Liverpool, bruised, was ridiculed by the Thatcher government and the tabloids who blamed the supporters, with great reinforcements of shameless lies to better hide the incredible failings of the authorities. Prime Minister David Cameron apologized in 2012. Following a long fight by the families for justice, a trial has been held in recent months. Graham Mackrell, 69, a former executive and security officer at Sheffield Wednesday, whose stadium hosted the match, was found guilty of breaching security rules.

However, the jury did not reach a verdict on the guilt of the main defendant, ex-police commissioner David Duckenfield, prosecuted for the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 people. It could be retried. Two other former police officers, Donald Denton and Alan Foster, as well as retired lawyer Peter Metcalf who had represented the authorities, will be tried in September, charged with trying to cover up the case and obstructing the course of the justice.

#OnceUponATime

Source: Paris Match