Hillsborough. Police did doctor evidence in a bid to avoid blame.

[Darkesteyeswithflecksofgold]

A report in the Independent about the cover up. RIP to the people who lost their lives on 15th April 1989.
And condolences to the families who are still suffering.

www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/exclusive-hillsborough--police-did-doctor-evidence-in-bid-to-avoid-blame-8126233.html

Putting it simply, it wasn't about ticketless fans storming the turnstiles (as was portrayed), but major delays in Liverpool fans arriving, due to a) roadworks on the Snake Pass; and b) trains being stopped by the police three times for passenger searches. It was decided to not delay the kick-off. This proved disastrous.

My dad remembers (having arrived by car with friends) parking about a mile from the ground. He and and his friends saw hundreds of police at that distance from the ground, ushering fans every few feet along the route, anticipating trouble, but progressively fewer as they approached the ground on foot.

There were only 23 (I think) turnstiles admitting people into the Leppings Lane end, which jammed frequently.

Inside, people were funnelled into one major entrance to the ground, as stewards were absent.

Then Dukenfield ordered a gate opened. The crush ensued. Nobody could tell they were being directed into an already over-crowded area.

That is my understanding of it.

Ditto superBOF from above

Sorry, I don't mean the victims were hitting horses, just the people outside the stadium trying to get in.

Fences are (were) such an obviously stupid thing, you'd think anyway.

DP wants terraces back, but I guess this is why they introduced all seating.

I've been to quite a few premiership matches, never had any problems or felt intimidated, but that could be that tickets are.so expensive now!

Scheherezade

The summary of Chapter 1 of the report would, I think, answer your question:

Based on documents disclosed to the Panel, this chapter assesses the impact of the 1981 crush on crowd safety at Hillsborough. It considers the decisions taken between 1981 and 1989 by SWFC, its safety consultants, the local authority (Sheffield City Council) and the South Yorkshire Police (SYP) regarding modifications to the Leppings Lane terrace and their consequences for the safe management of the crowd.
It is evident from the documents disclosed to the Panel that the safety of the crowd admitted to the terrace was compromised at every level: access to the turnstiles from the public highway; the condition and adequacy of the turnstiles; the management of the crowd by SYP and the SWFC stewards; alterations to the terrace, particularly the construction of pens; the condition and placement of crush barriers; access to the central pens via a tunnel descending at a 1 in 6 gradient; emergency egress from the pens via small gates in the perimeter fence; and lack of precise monitoring of crowd capacity within the pens.
These deficiencies were well known and further overcrowding problems at the turnstiles in 1987 and on the terrace in 1988 were additional indications of the inherent dangers to crowd safety. The risks were known and the crush in 1989 was foreseeable.

1. In 1981 before the FA Cup Semi-Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers there was serious congestion at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and crushing on the confined outer concourse. It resulted in the opening of exit Gate C to relieve the crush. The disclosed documents indicate that entry into the stadium was managed by South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers on duty and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club (SWFC) stewards.
2. What followed was a serious crush on the terraces in which many people were injured and fatalities narrowly avoided. At that time lateral fences did not divide the Leppings Lane terrace into pens, and fans were able to move sideways along the full length of the terrace; others escaped onto the perimeter track through the narrow gates in the perimeter fence.
3. The disclosed documents show that police officers located on the inner concourse, between the turnstiles and the rear of the terrace, restricted access to the central tunnel under the West Stand, diverting fans to the side access points to the terrace, thus relieving pressure at the centre. Crowd density figures available to the Panel demonstrate that the maximum capacity for the terrace was significantly exceeded.
4. The disclosed documents demonstrate that, following the 1981 incident, there was a breakdown in the relationship between SWFC and SYP. SWFC refused to accept the seriousness of the incident and held SYP responsible for the mismanagement of the crowd. SYP considered that the maximum capacity for the Leppings Lane terrace, set at 10,100, was too high, a view strongly contested by SWFC.
5. On the recommendation of SYP the construction of lateral fences in 1981 created three pens, with movement between pens limited to a small gate at the head of each lateral fence. According to SYP these gates were used to manage segregation at league matches but were not ?stewarded? by the police.
6. From the earliest safety assessments made by safety engineers commissioned in 1978 by SWFC, it was apparent that the stadium failed to meet minimum standards under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and established in the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (known as the ?Green Guide?), 1976. Documents released to the Panel confirm that the local Advisory Group for Safety at Sports Grounds carried out inadequate and poorly recorded inspections. There is clear evidence that SWFC?s primary consideration was cost and, to an extent, this was shared by its primary safety consultants, Eastwood & Partners.
7. Following the near tragedy in 1981, Hillsborough was not used for FA Cup semi- finals until 1987. During this period the Leppings Lane terrace underwent a series of significant modifications and alterations, none of which led to a revised safety certificate. The introduction of further lateral fences created two central pens accessed via the tunnel beneath the West Stand. Recommendations to feed fans directly from designated turnstiles into each pen, thus monitoring precisely the distribution of fans between the pens, were not acted on because of anticipated costs to SWFC.
8. Consequently, the turnstile counters were rendered irrelevant. Although they provided a check on the overall numbers entering the terrace, there was no information regarding crowd distribution between pens, each of which had an established maximum capacity.
9. It is evident from the disclosed documents that SYP were preoccupied with

crowd management, segregation and regulation to prevent potential disorder. SWFC?s primary concern was to limit costs. The Fire Service, however, raised concerns about provision for emergency evacuation of the terraces. As the only means of escaping forwards was onto the pitch, concern was raised specifically about the width of the perimeter fence gates which was well below the standard recommended by the Green Guide. The gradient of the tunnel under the West Stand leading down onto the terrace also significantly breached the Green Guide?s recommendation. 10. While modifications were made inside the stadium, the issue of congested access to the turnstiles outside the stadium remained unresolved. As Lord Justice Taylor?s Interim Report noted, of the stadium?s 54,000 capacity, over 24,000 fans were channelled through 23 turnstiles feeding the North Stand, the West Stand and the Leppings Lane terrace. 11. Following alterations, the safety of the existing maximum capacity for the Leppings Lane terrace was questioned repeatedly yet the decision was taken by the Club and the safety engineers not to revise the figure. 12. From the documents disclosed to the Panel, key issues ? positioning of safety barriers, elevation of the tunnel, adequacy of the perimeter fence gates ? were not discussed or recorded at the annual safety inspections. Following the delayed kick- off at the 1987 FA Cup Semi-Final and the crushing at the 1988 FA Cup Semi-Final, it is evident that debriefings held by all parties were inadequate. Crucial information arising from these events was not shared within SYP, nor was it exchanged between SYP and other agencies. There is no record provided by SWFC of debriefings held between Club stewards and their managers. The Club denied knowledge of any crowd-related concerns arising from the 1987 or 1988 FA Cup Semi-Finals.

Shereherzade I understand it as a failure of crowd control - which is quite obscene. Police and lots of other bodies deal with crowd control every day.

You know how many tickets have been sold, you can calculate the likely number of ticketless fans who are going turn up, you know what time the trains are arriving and you can monitor the traffic on motorways.

If there are any difficulties you deal with them by deploying an adequate number of staff and creating time-absorbing diversions.

I can see that it's complicated about that but it's a job. South Yorkshire Police failed utterly.

Someone above, forgot her name - sorry - said she didn't pay much attention at the time. Neither did I. I believed the police and the Establishment. I am so angry that they caused these deaths and used me.

Bof- that's what I mean, if all the people were meant to be there, late or not, there would have been room for them.

So if they were all in the main pens, the side ones must have been obviously really empty, if they were missing 1-2000 people meant to be there?

Not just failure of crowd control but contempt for ordinary people attending a 'downmarket' event.

Yes limited that makes sense. I just can't believe that every single person outside the stadium, wanting to get in, was a ticket holder. Even now people turn up on the day hoping to get one on the gates.

Thanks growlithe I couldn't open the report as on phone.

• I've turned up at music festivals on the day to get a ticket at the gates.

Don't know for sure but I think the 24,000 people ushered though 23 gates in a short space of time all had tickets.

Then Duckenfield ordered the extra gate to be opened...

Maybe it wouldn't have happened if the kick-off had been delayed or a number of other things.

That's not for me to say. That's for him. He was in charge.

Is he as dead as those poor people now?

For gates read turnstiles

I watched a football focus thing on YouTube, with interviews with the mum and dad of the two young girls that died.

No words :(

Not just failure of crowd control but contempt for ordinary people attending a 'downmarket' event
THIS. I totally agree!

The thing with outside was:

1. Those outside had bought tickets, paid for transport. Not cheap.
2. Those outside wanted to see the game, because Liverpool FC mean everything to them, and they want them to get through to the FA Cup final and win it.
3. The kick off was not delayed.
4. Those outside would have been thinking, its getting packed out here, but it will be ok once we are inside
5. Those outside, and inside, and everyone who has ever been to a public event, would have expected it to be safe for the number of tickets sold.
6. The gate was open, Those outside would have thought 'great decision - let's get in as soon as we can because we need to see the match', here we go, this sign says go down this tunnel..... '

Scherezade, looking at some of the film of the event - like the Football Focus documentary linked to above - it's clear that the spaces involved were claustrophobically small. It is almost beyond belief that anyone thought that 24,000 people could safely arrive in a short time and use those spaces without extremely close attention being paid. In 4 years of use for major matches - 1981, 1987, 1988 and 1989 - there was 1 serious incident and 1 catastrophe. In the words (roughly) of Nick Hornby - 'there was no plan; they really had been riding their luck all that time.'

Darkesteyes Tony Bland was indeed a man that made history. Not only was he involved in this disaster, but he suffered severe brain damage that left him in a persistent vegetative state. The consequence of this was that the hospital, with the support of his parents, applied for a court order allowing him to 'die with dignity'. As a result he became the first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die by the courts through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment including food and water.

Triple tragedy for this family. YNWA

Oh Growlithe I have no words. JFT96 YNWA

I'm neither a football fan or a Liverpudlian, I'm from down south, but I remember that day so vividly. I never believed the lies in sun, even at the time - long may that boycott continue. I have shed tears over what the families and the surviving fans must have suffered. I hope they get justice now.

JFT96

I would like, here and now, to offer my sincerest apologies to the victims of Hillsborough, their friends and families and the people of Liverpool.

Prior to the issuing of Wednesday's report, I believed the essence of the police reports.

It was inconceivable to me that the authorities would lie at all, let alone on this scale.

I didn't ever think that the Liverpool fans caused the tragedy, nor even that the vast majority heightened it. I simply accepted it was a matter of awful human error, much like the Bradford fire. But, to be honest, I didn't really think about it much at all.

Now we know the truth.

Liverpool, I am so very, very sorry.

It also worth pointing out that previous matches at Hillsborough used crowd control methods and filtering systems outside the ground. None of these were used on the day in question. This is why there was chaos and a crush beginning outside the ground. Duckenfield fatally ordered the gates open to counteract serious errors he had already made.

But why weren't there crowd control methods or filtering systems on that day? I don't understand why that decisions would be made. Was it as simple as Duckenfield not understanding crowd control on a very basic level? Was it, for example, his first time in charge of such a major event? (Not trying to excuse. Just understand.)

I would encourage anyone with an interest in this to have a look at the actual report. It's a hefty document but the summary is superb. It makes very 'easy' reading - not in it's content of course but in the fact that it explains everything in layman's terms. The panel have done a good job.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that it was his first time, but I couldn't swear to it. It's answers like this that the family want. So long as the official line was that it was the fans fault, the real reasons couldn't be fully explored.