In 1989, 96 soccer fans were tragically and fatally crushed in Sheffield, during a semi-finals match. This has been known as the Hillsborough Stadium disaster. Originally these people were blamed for their own demise. At the time it was asserted by the police that the fans had forcefully entered the stadium, and were therefore liable for the outcome of the incident.
Reasonably so, the grief-stricken family members of those who died in this tragedy, were unhappy about this assessment and did not believe it to be the truth. Now, over two decades later, new information has emerged with regards to this case. A coroner’s court has now subsequently claimed that this was a cover up, and that the police were at least partially to blame as they had allowed the stands to become so overcrowded. This led to people in the front being trampled upon, and were then pushed into the barricading fence.
The families of the 96 victims are overjoyed to have some closure and sense of justice for this terrible atrocity that happened so long ago. Many family members were exceptionally emotional when the jury announced that those who died were not at fault; but rather that the police as well as other factors were to blame. The police were to blame to some degree as they did not have an emergency or contingency plan for the day in question. If there had been a plan in place, they would have been able to prevent many people from dying. It is well known that sporting events can get very rowdy, especially when impassioned fans, who want their team to win, are present. As a result, it is reasonable to expect the police presence at such events to have some kind of emergency plan for when situations get out of control, in order to avoid tragedies such as this one in Sheffield.
Other factors also contributed to the severity of this situation. There is the design of the stadium that should be taken into account. The stadium did not have a safety certificate when this incident happened. Ambulances also failed to arrive in sufficient time to save fans. This combined with the police’s decisions that were made on the day, and the delays in their communication caused 96 people to die. A further 766 people were injured too. While this was indeed an awful tragedy that took place, we do not see many incidents of the same magnitude today, and can only hope that we do not see any more stadium tragedies in the future.
Seems as though some sports can be particularly dangerous! Both if you are playing them yourself or just a mere spectator -like in this case. If potentially dangerous, outdoor sports are not looking so appealing, maybe try an activity with less chance of bodily harm! Perhaps read a nice book, or try your hand at some entertaining online casino games at www.royalvegascasino.com , where the only thing you might bruise is your ego – and that’s only if you hit a losing streak!
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