by
Ryan Clement
Writing about this day has been difficult on so many levels. Firstly, on a basic human level. Watching this tragedy unfold before my very eyes on television was painful on a level for which I do not possess the words that could accurately describe and reflect the degree of pain felt and feel. However, the pain and suffering of those at the game, direct friends and their families are simply unimaginable for some of us who were not at the game, not direct friends and or not a family member. Secondly, I have been going to football matches (and still do) since the age of around 8 or 9 years young. My first game was at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham Football Club. By the age of 11, my closest friend and I had been to some of the biggest football stadia in the country. His dad was a big ‘football’ fan, as I cannot recall, at that age, whether he expressed which team he actually supported. So, by the age of 11 I had already been to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea) many times, Highbury (Arsenal) many times, White Hart Lane (Tottenham Hotspur), Old Trafford (Manchester United) twice, Baseball Ground (Derby County), Portman Road (Ipswich Town), Vicarage Road (Watford) many times, Upton Park (West Ham), Loftus Road (Queens Park Rangers) many times, Craven Cottage many times and Anfield 2 or 3 times, being the home of the team I support. The youngest victim of the Hillsborough Disaster was aged just 10, which would have been around the same age that I was visiting these grounds. My mother put her trust in my best friend’s dad to keep me safe and he in turn, I guess, put his trust in the appropriate authorities to keep us all safe. Thirdly, I am a Liverpool fan and have been since the age of first visiting these grounds. Lastly, as my best friend once did with his son, I now take my son to Anfield to watch the home team whom he also supports.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. I remember this very well. I was at my parents’ home in London and as working on quantity surveying work. It was before I was Called to the Bar seven years later. I had taken over the dining room table and covered it with architects’ drawings from which I was to take measurements. I was happy because Liverpool were in the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest and, as good as Forest were (finishing 3rd in the table and we finished 2nd behind Arsenal after Michael Thomas (a future Liverpool player) scored ‘that’ goal in the title decider at Anfield on 26 May 1989), we were expected to win – well, in my eyes we were! Respectfully, I just could not see how Forest could handle our attacking force of Beardsley, Barnes, Rush and Aldridge whilst Hansen and company took care of business at the back.
What happened next has remained and will remain with me forever. As I grappled with measuring the strip foundations on the drawings, plans, elevations, sections etc., news was coming through that something was wrong at Hillsborough, which, as we now know, is an understatement of cataclysmic proportions. Pictures of fans on the pitch, overcrowding, injuries, people on stretchers etc. began to emerge that informed us, who were not at the game, that what we were witnessing was not simply something wrong but a disaster unfolding. I was glued to the television and radio in total disbelief. Had I been able to secure tickets for the match, I would have been there. Instead, my friends were there instead. I should clarify. When I said ‘direct friends’ earlier I did not mean that we as friends in the wider sense i.e. people, sports’ fans, football fans, Liverpool fans would be unaffected by this Hillsborough Disaster (by which it would be commonly known). Shortly after 3pm the match was stopped and abandoned. At the same time (3pm) on the same day (15 April 1989), the other big club in the city of Liverpool, Everton Football Club, were playing Norwich City in the other F.A. Club semi-final and won 1-0.
Later that evening, I attended a long booked engagement in Canterbury, Kent, with some friends who were studying at the University. It was supposed to have been an evening of fun and catching up. It was anything but. The Hillsborough Disaster dominated the occasion.
On 7 May 1989 Liverpool and Nottingham Forest played their match, which was held at Old Trafford. Liverpool won 3-1, which set up an all Merseyside F.A. Cup Final, which took place on 20 May 1989 at Wembley Stadium. There was a minute’s silence and both sets of players wore black armbands in memory of those who died in The Hillsborough Disaster. Both teams put on a spectacle of a match, which was won by Liverpool 3-2 after extra time. But, the result was a distant secondary in comparison to the tragedy that had occurred just the month before.
We lawyers will know of a famous case that arose from the Hillsborough Disaster. However, justice is still being sought from the families and friends of the victims.
Recalling this day alone has been an incredibly emotional encounter for many. I cannot know fully how those more closely related to the 97 fatal victims and the countless other victims who suffered and are suffering from physical and or psychological injuries must be feeling.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJERjcf9/
My thoughts are with you all.
YNWA.
A human tragedy that touched the world of football
HILLSBOROUGH – The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, September 2012
Ryan Clement, LLM, BA, BSc, barrister
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanClement1
Copyright © Ryan Clement 2023
Ryan Clement 