BREAKING: ‘ NOT GUILTY ‘

There will be a lot of upset people on Merseyside


Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield has been cleared of the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool fans who died at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.

The seven women and three men on the jury at Preston Crown Court returned its verdict on Thursday following a trial which lasted more than six weeks.

The prosecution in the case alleged Duckenfield, 75, had a "personal responsibility" for what happened at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15 1989, where 96 men, women and children, were fatally injured in a crush on the Leppings Lane terrace.


Under the law at the time he was not charged over the death of the 96th victim Tony Bland, because he died more than a year and a day after the disaster.

Duckenfield stood trial earlier this year but the jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered.

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From the limited information I have. I’d agree with that considering not one ticketless fan has been taken to court as far as I know.

From the limited information I have. I’d agree with that considering not one ticketless fan has been taken to court as far as I know.

Genuine question it’s been so long I can’t remember fact from fiction but was it ever proved that there were ticketless fans in the enclosure??

He’s been made the scapegoat all along he had no match day experience at all that’s like asking me to drive a plane to be honest
I think it’s the right decision how can one man take all the blame it was a terrible tragedy I hope we never see again I would never go back to terrain for the safe standing area that they are trying to bring to certain grounds

One of my best mates is a Liverpool fan who was there on the tragic day He has openly said to me that Liverpool fans were not blameless he said talk i the bars was that fans without tickets regularly tried to get in by storming a fur style of two This happen on the day My friend was fortunate he could not get in but had a ticket .
When we played Liverpool at Wembley you had Liverpool fans again forcing their in Some had just for the 96 tee shirts on
My friends view was on the day people would have died in the crush outside the ground but opening the doors ended up causing more deaths He could ever express these opinion in Liverpool

I havent followed the case over the time span but I cant get my head around how it wasnt Liverpool's fans fault for getting in the end without a ticket.
Surely if they had never turned up then this tradegy would never have happened. That has to be the cause for the tradegy.

Sorry but my head says it is the fans fault here and maybe we can put this to bed once and for all

From the limited information I have. I’d agree with that considering not one ticketless fan has been taken to court as far as I know.

Genuine question it’s been so long I can’t remember fact from fiction but was it ever proved that there were ticketless fans in the enclosure??

Because there was 2k fans trying to get into enclosure hardly going to know who had tickets? But it was wrong that only he was singled out smacks of scapegoat by senior people....

One of my best mates is a Liverpool fan who was there on the tragic day He has openly said to me that Liverpool fans were not blameless he said talk i the bars was that fans without tickets regularly tried to get in by storming a fur style of two This happen on the day My friend was fortunate he could not get in but had a ticket .
When we played Liverpool at Wembley you had Liverpool fans again forcing their in Some had just for the 96 tee shirts on
My friends view was on the day people would have died in the crush outside the ground but opening the doors ended up causing more deaths He could ever express these opinion in Liverpool

Think most people outside liverpool knew that fans played a part in tragedy but the city wouldn't accept this as ruin their sporting reputation and it would unfortunately have the effect of besmerching the deaths of the fans that died.... now the course of justice as been completed its time for it to be laid to rest hard as it is for the families to accept..

From the limited information I have. I’d agree with that considering not one ticketless fan has been taken to court as far as I know.

Genuine question it’s been so long I can’t remember fact from fiction but was it ever proved that there were ticketless fans in the enclosure??

The best guesstimates of the uncontrolled crowd in that area appear to show overcrowding in that area, i.e. too many people in one place and reports initially talked of "many" Liverpool fans at the ground without tickets

A lot has been brushed under the carpet for this incident but those who have supported football in general for many years will recall that there was a time fans couldn't get anywhere near certain stadia without a valid ticket and a search party to greet them slightly away from the ground

Our FA Cup game at Arenal's old Highbury Stadium is one I recall and that 'safety measure' was as a direct result of the Hillsbrough incident and other (lesser) incidents at that time

Several of us said at the time of his summons that David Duckenfield was being used as a scapegoat to deflect from some and to sate others thirst for 'someone' to take the bulk of the blame

This whole affair has been a tragedy and need not have happened; but to 'blame' one person whilst ignoring the part(s) played by others, including some Liverpool fans, is to short-change the realities of that day

My heart goes out to the deceased and their families from that day. No one should go to a football match and not go home

Thankfully, albeit reactively, football has learned from incidents like this and moved on somewhat. We may not like some of what they've done but it does make it as safe as it has ever been to go to a football match

#RIPtheLiverpool96

The correct verdict. To single out one person was wrong. His decision to open the gates was in retrospect the wrong decision but he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. The whole system was wrong from the installing of pens and fences to the assumption that all football fans are animals.

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

I can’t watch any footage of that horrible day soon as I see any footage of it I turn over it’s just to distressing rip the 96 you went to see you’re heroes play and you didn’t come home and that’s not right

I can’t watch any footage of that horrible day soon as I see any footage of it I turn over it’s just to distressing rip the 96 you went to see you’re heroes play and you didn’t come home and that’s not right

no its not right, but neither is it right to look for someone to blame when there were so so many factors.. fences, pens , inadequate turnstyles { 7 turnstyles for 10k fans } . and fans who more often than not wanted to get at each other.
looking back I think we all often took our lives in our hands going to football for many reasons.

I can’t watch any footage of that horrible day soon as I see any footage of it I turn over it’s just to distressing rip the 96 you went to see you’re heroes play and you didn’t come home and that’s not right

no its not right, but neither is it right to look for someone to blame when there were so so many factors.. fences, pens , inadequate turnstyles { 7 turnstyles for 10k fans } . and fans who more often than not wanted to get at each other.
looking back I think we all often took our lives in our hands going to football for many reasons.

I remember going to the wales Scotland World Cup qualifier at anfield when the Scots out numbered us 100 to one it was supposed to be our home game god knows where Scotland fans got there tickets from that night we in the corner of the Kop about 500 of us fighting broke out on the kop we getting crushed then the trouble stopped in the anfied road end you could see hundred of Scots fans got in there without tickets how nobody got killed that night still amazes me to this day hillsborough nearly happened that night

I was at the Wales v Scotland game and I can remember some fans hanging out of a double decker, threatening anyone with a red shirt or scarf. As someone who worked in the emergency services, and not the Police, I think this is the right decision. South Yorkshire Police should have been prosecuted, and not the individual. I don’t know if corporate manslaughter was part of the law then, but all of those officers who told lies, should have been prosecuted. My big question is, why was Mr Duckenfield transferred into this post at the end of the season and before such an important game. I can’t remember his name but whoever the senior officer was,who went in to get a knighthood, should have that honour taken off him.

I can’t watch any footage of that horrible day soon as I see any footage of it I turn over it’s just to distressing rip the 96 you went to see you’re heroes play and you didn’t come home and that’s not right

no its not right, but neither is it right to look for someone to blame when there were so so many factors.. fences, pens , inadequate turnstyles { 7 turnstyles for 10k fans } . and fans who more often than not wanted to get at each other.
looking back I think we all often took our lives in our hands going to football for many reasons.

I remember going to the wales Scotland World Cup qualifier at anfield when the Scots out numbered us 100 to one it was supposed to be our home game god knows where Scotland fans got there tickets from that night we in the corner of the Kop about 500 of us fighting broke out on the kop we getting crushed then the trouble stopped in the anfied road end you could see hundred of Scots fans got in there without tickets how nobody got killed that night still amazes me to this day hillsborough nearly happened that night

I was there...we played that game there as a punishment for the trouble at NP during the Yugoslavia game..so hooliganism was a hot topic...ill never forget ive just left the ground got on a double decker layed on to Birkenhead station and the driver has the radio on....the commentator says , and its nice to report there was no trouble.. my jumper is ripped and looking around the bus theres a bloke without a shoe another with a sleeve missing of his jacket., one with a black eye, another with a thick lip.. they reported what they felt like reporting.
what a mental night.

I can’t watch any footage of that horrible day soon as I see any footage of it I turn over it’s just to distressing rip the 96 you went to see you’re heroes play and you didn’t come home and that’s not right

no its not right, but neither is it right to look for someone to blame when there were so so many factors.. fences, pens , inadequate turnstyles { 7 turnstyles for 10k fans } . and fans who more often than not wanted to get at each other.
looking back I think we all often took our lives in our hands going to football for many reasons.

I remember going to the wales Scotland World Cup qualifier at anfield when the Scots out numbered us 100 to one it was supposed to be our home game god knows where Scotland fans got there tickets from that night we in the corner of the Kop about 500 of us fighting broke out on the kop we getting crushed then the trouble stopped in the anfied road end you could see hundred of Scots fans got in there without tickets how nobody got killed that night still amazes me to this day hillsborough nearly happened that night

I was there...we played that game there as a punishment for the trouble at NP during the Yugoslavia game..so hooliganism was a hot topic...ill never forget ive just left the ground got on a double decker layed on to Birkenhead station and the driver has the radio on....the commentator says , and its nice to report there was no trouble.. my jumper is ripped and looking around the bus theres a bloke without a shoe another with a sleeve missing of his jacket., one with a black eye, another with a thick lip.. they reported what they felt like reporting.
what a mental night.

I used my Wales scarf from that game last week still with the blood on it after being hit with flying can from their fans! Also went there for a city game later and that ground was a death trap we got attacked by wed fans and had nowhere to go because was hemmed in
bit like liverpool fans were? Eventually got to top teir of stand to escape.

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

The families refused to believe any fans were drunk at the time of disaster and forced an official statement to say no liverpool fan was drunk trying to get into ground without paying? Even in those days grounds had ticket allocation and theres no doubt there was far more liverpool fans in the ground than tickets allocated! As been said no fan should go to game and not come back safely, But what I find wrong is them denying their fans did anything wrong? And now we've had justice system deliver verdict the families spokesman calling the jury a disgrace they're the disgrace attacking ordinary people doing their civic duty .

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

The families refused to believe any fans were drunk at the time of disaster and forced an official statement to say no liverpool fan was drunk trying to get into ground without paying? Even in those days grounds had ticket allocation and theres no doubt there was far more liverpool fans in the ground than tickets allocated! As been said no fan should go to game and not come back safely, But what I find wrong is them denying their fans did anything wrong? And now we've had justice system deliver verdict the families spokesman calling the jury a disgrace they're the disgrace attacking ordinary people doing their civic duty .

Totally agree.

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

none of the enquiries have found there were large amounts of ticketless LFC fans. it was a lie which has been admitted...obviously there were drunk fans ,there always are..
the problem was a large proportion of LFC turned up late which created a crush outside the ground at the leppings lane turnstyles ,the crush has been independently described as critical .. the police decide to open a gate for safety to relieve the crush.. LFC fans pour into the concourse with most then heading for the middle pen...
for me..had the police not opened the gate there would have been deaths outside and a different group of relatives taking the police on for not opening the gate...
they built bigger stronger fences, and in some grounds sectioned terraces into pens. because quite simply the hooligan problem had become far more of a priority than safety.

Think it’s the correct decision! Sadly there were no singular defining factors which caused this tragedy. It was a combination of poor organisation, ticketless fans and a stadium, with high fencing which sadly resulted in so many deaths. Think the biggest mistake was putting the Liverpool in the Leppings Lane end, when they should have been in the much larger Kop!
I know it’s been swept under the carpet, but Liverpool were known to turn up at games without a ticket, it was done the year before at the same venue and I remember clearly Liverpool fans trying to get into Wembley with no ticket v Everton in the 86 Final. There were even some fans on the Wembley roof.

Think it’s the correct decision! Sadly there were no singular defining factors which caused this tragedy. It was a combination of poor organisation, ticketless fans and a stadium, with high fencing which sadly resulted in so many deaths. Think the biggest mistake was putting the Liverpool in the Leppings Lane end, when they should have been in the much larger Kop!
I know it’s been swept under the carpet, but Liverpool were known to turn up at games without a ticket, it was done the year before at the same venue and I remember clearly Liverpool fans trying to get into Wembley with no ticket v Everton in the 86 Final. There were even some fans on the Wembley roof.

but it wasn't brushed under the carpet. . umpteen inquiries have found there were not large numbers of LFC fans without tickets. and the original line about there being this large number was a lie and has been admitted to being a lie..
blaming them is as bad as blaming the police..
the real problem was how people behaved at football over the years preceding this tragic event which elevated stopping hooliganism over safety and led to fences and pens.

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

none of the enquiries have found there were large amounts of ticketless LFC fans. it was a lie which has been admitted...obviously there were drunk fans ,there always are..
the problem was a large proportion of LFC turned up late which created a crush outside the ground at the leppings lane turnstyles ,the crush has been independently described as critical .. the police decide to open a gate for safety to relieve the crush.. LFC fans pour into the concourse with most then heading for the middle pen...
for me..had the police not opened the gate there would have been deaths outside and a different group of relatives taking the police on for not opening the gate...
they built bigger stronger fences, and in some grounds sectioned terraces into pens. because quite simply the hooligan problem had become far more of a priority than safety.

Yes inquiry said no ticket less fans there that's because families and liverpool as a city would not accept there was as would tarnish the city! No way was there less fans at that end than capacity so where were the extra fans going? As been said deaths would have happened outside gates if not opened ? But your right hooligan factor led to grounds being ripe for a disaster due to no safe exits due to fences ive
experienced it at that end of ground. But you can garauntee this is not the end and someone else will be in firing line to be blamed shortly...

Just to remind you of what Boris Johnson said about Hillborough.

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Just to remind you of what Boris Johnson said about Hillborough.

He is not far off as you've seen on here his is not only opinion saying it? Just because inquiry said they wasnt fans getting in without tickets doesn't mean there wasn't or did enquiry ask every fan at that end did they have ticket and did they show them ? And it's not as if liverpool fans was not involved in deaths ar football was it?

Just to remind you of what Boris Johnson said about Hillborough.

He is not far off as you've seen on here his is not only opinion saying it? Just because inquiry said they wasnt fans getting in without tickets doesn't mean there wasn't or did enquiry ask every fan at that end did they have ticket and did they show them ? And it's not as if liverpool fans was not involved in deaths at football was it, Suppose they were innocent victims aswell, but we haven't heared last of this thats for sure as lawyers will be looking to make more money out of the families grief.....

Think it’s the correct decision! Sadly there were no singular defining factors which caused this tragedy. It was a combination of poor organisation, ticketless fans and a stadium, with high fencing which sadly resulted in so many deaths. Think the biggest mistake was putting the Liverpool in the Leppings Lane end, when they should have been in the much larger Kop!
I know it’s been swept under the carpet, but Liverpool were known to turn up at games without a ticket, it was done the year before at the same venue and I remember clearly Liverpool fans trying to get into Wembley with no ticket v Everton in the 86 Final. There were even some fans on the Wembley roof.

but it wasn't brushed under the carpet. . umpteen inquiries have found there were not large numbers of LFC fans without tickets. and the original line about there being this large number was a lie and has been admitted to being a lie..
blaming them is as bad as blaming the police..
the real problem was how people behaved at football over the years preceding this tragic event which elevated stopping hooliganism over safety and led to fences and pens.

Can you explain how these enquiries found there were not a large amount of ticketless Liverpool fans that day as I can't see how they could possibly knows this. I presume no one was asked to produce a valid ticket after the incident so how could anyone know how many there were. When the gates were opened ticketless fans could have entered the ground. I would be genuinely interested to know the methodology behind making this statement.

Also what does not a large amount mean? Was there a medium sized amount of ticketless fans inside the ground if so what is the estimate of how many. In a sold out end even a few hundred would extra would cause problems. Interesting to note they are using a vague phrase rather than try to give a number.

Think it’s the correct decision! Sadly there were no singular defining factors which caused this tragedy. It was a combination of poor organisation, ticketless fans and a stadium, with high fencing which sadly resulted in so many deaths. Think the biggest mistake was putting the Liverpool in the Leppings Lane end, when they should have been in the much larger Kop!
I know it’s been swept under the carpet, but Liverpool were known to turn up at games without a ticket, it was done the year before at the same venue and I remember clearly Liverpool fans trying to get into Wembley with no ticket v Everton in the 86 Final. There were even some fans on the Wembley roof.

but it wasn't brushed under the carpet. . umpteen inquiries have found there were not large numbers of LFC fans without tickets. and the original line about there being this large number was a lie and has been admitted to being a lie..
blaming them is as bad as blaming the police..
the real problem was how people behaved at football over the years preceding this tragic event which elevated stopping hooliganism over safety and led to fences and pens.

Can you explain how these enquiries found there were not a large amount of ticketless Liverpool fans that day as I can't see how they could possibly knows this. I presume no one was asked to produce a valid ticket after the incident so how could anyone know how many there were. When the gates were opened ticketless fans could have entered the ground. I would be genuinely interested to know the methodology behind making this statement.

Also what does not a large amount mean? Was there a medium sized amount of ticketless fans inside the ground if so what is the estimate of how many. In a sold out end even a few hundred would extra would cause problems. Interesting to note they are using a vague phrase rather than try to give a number.

At end of day only fans who should have been in that area was fans with tickets, so why didn't they wait to go in why was there the crush/rush to turnstiles if had tickets? they would have got in before game started? No problems at other game and similar crowd! Sorry I just dont buy this they all had tickets when clearly there was more fans than should have been trying to get into ground and that contributed to the disaster.

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

none of the enquiries have found there were large amounts of ticketless LFC fans. it was a lie which has been admitted...obviously there were drunk fans ,there always are..
the problem was a large proportion of LFC turned up late which created a crush outside the ground at the leppings lane turnstyles ,the crush has been independently described as critical .. the police decide to open a gate for safety to relieve the crush.. LFC fans pour into the concourse with most then heading for the middle pen...
for me..had the police not opened the gate there would have been deaths outside and a different group of relatives taking the police on for not opening the gate...
they built bigger stronger fences, and in some grounds sectioned terraces into pens. because quite simply the hooligan problem had become far more of a priority than safety.

Yes inquiry said no ticket less fans there that's because families and liverpool as a city would not accept there was as would tarnish the city! No way was there less fans at that end than capacity so where were the extra fans going? As been said deaths would have happened outside gates if not opened ? But your right hooligan factor led to grounds being ripe for a disaster due to no safe exits due to fences ive
experienced it at that end of ground. But you can garauntee this is not the end and someone else will be in firing line to be blamed shortly...

no Allen.. they have had independent experts in crowd counting.. the story came from the police who lied and have admitted the lie.. the crush outside was not a group turning up and charging a gate it was a gradual build up at inadequate turnstlyes
your right about it not being the end...I watched a number of interviews last night, they want someone to blame.
which I don't get..it wasn't fans..or police..of SWFC..or terraces..or even pens..it was a combination of all.

I remember watching that game,what I make of it is this,if you have the audacity to question those poor people who tragically lost their lives then you are targeted like some holocaust denier ,but it’s not those poor souls I attribute any blame to,far from it,they were legitimately in the ground early ready to watch a game of football,it’s the pissed up ticketless mob behind them who thought that as there was so many of them they could charge their way in for free,look they didn’t know what the consequences would be,but they seem to have been erased from blame

none of the enquiries have found there were large amounts of ticketless LFC fans. it was a lie which has been admitted...obviously there were drunk fans ,there always are..
the problem was a large proportion of LFC turned up late which created a crush outside the ground at the leppings lane turnstyles ,the crush has been independently described as critical .. the police decide to open a gate for safety to relieve the crush.. LFC fans pour into the concourse with most then heading for the middle pen...
for me..had the police not opened the gate there would have been deaths outside and a different group of relatives taking the police on for not opening the gate...
they built bigger stronger fences, and in some grounds sectioned terraces into pens. because quite simply the hooligan problem had become far more of a priority than safety.

Yes inquiry said no ticket less fans there that's because families and liverpool as a city would not accept there was as would tarnish the city! No way was there less fans at that end than capacity so where were the extra fans going? As been said deaths would have happened outside gates if not opened ? But your right hooligan factor led to grounds being ripe for a disaster due to no safe exits due to fences ive
experienced it at that end of ground. But you can garauntee this is not the end and someone else will be in firing line to be blamed shortly...

no Allen.. they have had independent experts in crowd counting.. the story came from the police who lied and have admitted the lie.. the crush outside was not a group turning up and charging a gate it was a gradual build up at inadequate turnstlyes
your right about it not being the end...I watched a number of interviews last night, they want someone to blame.
which I don't get..it wasn't fans..or police..of SWFC..or terraces..or even pens..it was a combination of all.

Ahhh so they managed to count every head in and out stadium? Sorry dont care how expert they are they did not know who had tickets and who didnt? As example They should come to city count how many people get into a lift and say thats not to many put them in lift and then find all wont fit even though it's under permitted numbers! So why not same at Hillsborough? ... I dont get this someone to blame bit either it was a combination of everything including fans as they were part of problem as well...