Hillsborough Disaster
Description
The Hillsborough Disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, all fans of Liverpool F.C. It remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst ever international football accidents. It was the second of two stadium-related disasters involving Liverpool supporters, the other being the Heysel Stadium Disaster in 1985.The match, an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, was abandoned six minutes into the game.The inquiry into the disaster, the Taylor Report, named the cause as failure of police control, and resulted in the conversion of many football stadiums in the United Kingdom to all-seater and the removal of barriers at the front of stands. Liverpool supporters still campaign to this day for justice against the South Yorkshire police force, which, they believe, handled the situation incorrectly.Before the disasterAt the time, most United Kingdom football stadiums had placed high steel fencing between the spectators and the pitch, in response to hooliganism which had plagued the sport for several years. Hooliganism was particularly virulent in England, where it often involved pitch invasions, the throwing of missiles, or both pre- and post-match violence; the Heysel Stadium Disaster is a prominent example, where Liverpool fans themselves were involved. Because of these security standards, English stadiums had a history of crushes since the 1960s.
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