Hillsborough...the day football died

IT seems hard to believe but it is now 28 years ago that 96 Liverpool fans so tragically lost their lives in the disaster at Hillsborough prior to the FA Cup semi final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

The clock at Hillsborough forever showing 3.06pm

I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I did what I usually did on a Saturday afternoon; I was at Highbury to watch Arsenal play a vital Division One match against Newcastle United. We were going head-to-head with Liverpool for the title and we simply had to beat the relegation-bound Geordies to stay on top of the table.

News began to filter through during the first half that the semi final had been delayed due to crowd trouble, but at half time it became clear that there had been some sort of disaster, although none of us were aware of the full extent of the tragedy at this stage. This, of course, was in the days before internet phones.

In a rather subdued atmosphere Arsenal scored in the second half - a goal from Brian Marwood in case you were interested - to win 1-0, but once news reached us that people had died in Sheffield our win became irrelevant.

Listening to the radio in the car on the way home and then seeing the pictures on the news that evening was simply awful and tears were shed. People should not die going to watch their favourite team.

Of course many reasons have been given as to why it happened, and blame has been laid at many doors, but every single football fan felt the pain of those who suffered that day as we had all been in similar situations before. Yes, it could have happened to any of us.

The full horror begins to unfold

I remember being at a game at White Hart Lane about four years earlier. Trouble had broken out in the stadium and hundreds of Arsenal fans had climbed from the terracing section of the away end to the seating area above. This meant that far too many people were now in that section and everyone was sitting on everyone else's lap or standing in the aisles, but the real drama happened at the end of the match as we were trying to get out.

The stairwell and aisles were not wide enough for the number of people now in the stand, and I remember being carried along with my feet off the ground, unable to breathe, until we finally managed to squeeze out. It was really scary and any panic would have led to a similar situation to that which we would later witness at Hillsborough.

Much has been written about the disaster since and watching football has now changed forever as a result. Stadiums are far safer and much more comfortable these days, which is surely the best legacy there can be to the 96 who perished so tragically in Sheffield that day.

Of course justice has now been given to the families of those affected. Blame has rightly been passed to those truly responsible. The real tragedy is that it took so long for this to happen.

The Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield

So on this 28th Anniversary, lets all take time to remember those 96 fans who went to football and never came home. If you are at a match this week take a look around the stadium and appreciate what you have and the fact that it is so much safer now. Be thankful something like Hillsborough can never happen again.

Former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly famously said, 'Football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that...' but after the events of Hillsborough I'm sure we all agree he was wrong. Nothing is more precious than life, certainly not a game of football.

RIP the 96.