Hillsborough Stadium Controversy

There have been various stadium disasters in the history of the United Kingdom that have occurred as the result of inadequate security and crowd control, a lack of stadium laws and guidelines, and poor ground designs. But it wasn’t until the 1989 Hillsborough disaster that measures were taken to avoid the recurrence of a similar event.

In April 15th, 1989, British history recorded one of the worst sporting catastrophes the country had ever seen. Following a sequence of failures and errors 96 men, women and children were crushed to death, and another 776 were injured, on the terraces of Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club’s home stadium, during the fateful FA Cup Semi-final match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC. Football as we know it today was born out of the Hillsborough disaster as this event came to change the face and experience of watching football in England, as well as in Europe.

Although much controversy has evolved about the true cause of the catastrophe, the blame for the disaster has since fallen on Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who was in

Another major primary source I will use are letters. Letters of condolence to Liverpool fans and the club, letters from eyewitness accounts that aid my recollection and narration of the event, letters from the Football Association towards all the clubs about future changes, developments and immediate actions to prevent an event like Hillsborough from happening again, and legal letters from attorneys and councils that will be constructive when observing the event and its consequences. Newspapers are another type of primary source that provide maps of the event and early reports on the event that proves helpful when understanding the immediate response of supporters, the police, and the