Heysel Stadium disaster

[W.C.]

The one thing that the mountains of evidence will never be able to show, is how many ticketless Liverpool fans were there outside the Leppings Lane End, before kick-off. For years, they had a reputation of turning up late, en masse, without tickets and using whatever methods were necessary, to gain entry to grounds.
At Hillsborough that day, the police should have anticipated this problem but they panicked and made the wrong call and it ultimately proved to be fatal. They could see a massive problem growing outside and should have dealt with it. They didn't have enough manpower in the right place. They didn't want the problem spreading on the streets so they tried to contain it inside the ground. The fans outside, worried they were not going to get in, started to put pressure on the gates and turnstiles. They were hoping for something to give and eventually it did. Too many poured into one section, which couldn't cope with the numbers and the surging that followed ( those at the back pushing to get in ) forced fans against barriers and fencing. There was no way out.
The police were culpable, not just in the decisions they took but in disregarding all known history re Liverpool fans. i.e many would turn up late, ticketless and inebriated and try and get in the ground. They tried to deal with a situation that was already out of control, rather than containment at source.

I really don't want to get into a Hillsborough thread again, especially on a thread about Heysel, but the ticketless drunken fans line? Shown to be a story put about by the police to deflect blame. http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/Section-1/summary/page-14/

 

[chaileyjem]

The one thing that the mountains of evidence will never be able to show, is how many ticketless Liverpool fans were there outside the Leppings Lane End, before kick-off. For years, they had a reputation of turning up late, en masse, without tickets and using whatever methods were necessary, to gain entry to grounds. .

Hi Mo. Apologies for the quotes /sources but this is a sensitive issue for all fans which is why i'm quoting at length.

Tickets
The Taylor enquiry as long ago as 1989. "no great number entered without tickets..."
"the figures...
suggest that there was not a very significant body of ticketless fans in the crowd which built up" (p35)
http://www.southyorks.police.uk/sites/default/files/Taylor Interim Report.pdf

Ticketless fans were a factor
re allegations that Liverpool fans were "late, ticketless and inebriated and try and get in the ground ..."
The Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012
http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/main-section/part-2/chapter-12/page-1/

2.12.8 While these allegations were found to be unsubstantiated by the Taylor Inquiry and the reporting was criticised subsequently by the Press Council, the allegations persisted throughout the [later] inquiries and investigations.
2.12.9 Further, and much to the bereaved families' and survivors' dismay, the allegations remained prominent and have since been repeated as factually accurate in academic texts, broadcast documentaries, political debate and popular discourse, including fiction writing. [since 1989]

Re: the fans "pouring into one section, which couldn't cope" as a factor.

Again Hillsborough Independent Panel...
1.120 [Taylor] concluded that the immediate cause of the disaster was the failure to close access to the central pens once Gate C had been opened, leading to overcrowding, injury and deaths. At the time of Gate C's opening the central pens were beyond capacity but there was a failure to recognise the problem and control further entry to each pen.

1.121 The pressure in pen 3 led to the collapse of the barrier, and there followed a 'sluggish reaction and response' by the police. Poor police leadership, including the failure to respond to the urgency of the unfolding disaster, alongside the restricted size and small number of perimeter fence gates, hindered the rescue of those dying on the terraces.

1.122 The Report was clear that the dangerous congestion at the turnstiles should have been anticipated and planned for accordingly, that unless fans arrived steadily over a period of time the turnstiles would not cope and congestion would be inevitable.

1.123 Neither the Operational Order nor the policing strategy on the day had considered the possibility and consequences of heavy congestion at the turnstiles in the period before kick-off. The Report noted that some turnstiles malfunctioned and that the signage and ticketing were inadequate.

1.124 LJ Taylor noted that a minority of fans had been drinking but concluded that they had not caused the congestion, nor had 'hooliganism' played any part in the disaster. The 'fear of hooliganism', however, had influenced 'the strategy of the police', resulting in an 'imbalance between the need to quell a minority of troublemakers and the need to secure the safety and comfort of the majority'. The 'real cause' of the disaster, LJ Taylor concluded, was 'overcrowding' and the 'main reason' was 'the failure of police control'.
via http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/main-section/part-1/page-7/

Fan Behaviour a factor.
Finally Sir Norman Bettinson, a senior officer in 1989, speaking in the current enquiry
"“Fans’ behaviour, to the extent that it was relevant at all, made the job of the police, in the crush outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles, harder than it needed to be. But it didn’t cause the disaster any more than the sunny day that encouraged people to linger outside the stadium as kick-off approached.”
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ugh-inquest-that-fans-were-in-no-way-to-blame