It’s time to return the discussion to football.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

You do realise that the area outside the turnstiles could only hold 5000 people at an absolute maximum and 24?000 people were supposed to pass through this area?

You do realise that the health and safety executive revealed that, at the leppings lane turnstiles ques were 3.5 times more likely to form than at any other area around the stadium?

You do realise for 24?000 people to have got inside the stadium before 3pm all fans would have had to arrive at the stadium before 1pm.

You do realise that in 1981 south yorkshire police accused tottenham fans of bringing ticketless fans following the crushing incident which left 38 people needing hospital treatment.

You do realise that, after a 6 year gap when the fa reselected hillsborough, that the kick off for leeds cov semi final was delayed due to large crowds forming at the leppings lane turnstiles.

You do realise that police officers sent memo’s to senior officers that the turnstiles dont provide away fans with anything like the access required to gain enterence to the stadium.

You do realise that eastwood and partners drafted ideas for extra turnstiles to help ease the problem but non of the designs were implemented by swfc.

You do realise these problems date back to 1934? when a large crowd formed at the leppings lane turnstiles, a gate somehow ‘’sprung open” allowing a crowd to enter and a mr frederick hill being crushed to death.

I dont suppose you do recognise these facts as they dont fit in with your clear agenda.

The darkest hour in football remains the games governing bodies failing to take responsibility for the safety and organisation for the game which lines their pockets.

I am trying to understand your post- seriously. MADD don’t just campaign about the tragedy of their own loved ones but about the issue of drunk driving more broadly. Victim’s rights organizations or human rights organizations are not just campaigning about their own personal issue but place it in a broader context. They travel around the world or around the country, the promote legislation and international intervention.

My point was when I raise Steven’s comments about the Ivory Coast disaster or other issues you get deafening silence from fans of Liverpool fc. Even some said, “those are not our dead.”

It raises the question is it really upsetting that people went to a football match or died unnecessarily, or is it only upsetting because they are LIverpool fans. Too often the discussion here and on other message boards sounds a lot like the latter rather than the former.

Maybe it makes no difference to you and is a silly distinction, but I think it matters to some as to how to understand this movement. Is it a movement about justice or really just about partisanship. That’s because many of the comments here and elsewhere tend less toward the issue of tragedy and death and more towards the “don’t mess with liverpool.” The latter really turns people off. When combined with the threats etc, you end up getting the coverage you got in the Daily news,NPR and the NY Times.

In my opinion going about it all the wrong way has damaged the image of the game in the US and now what Americans understand about the incident is more about partisan hatred than the tragedy that occurred. You can blame the reporters but that coverage was predictable given the way this boycott and response has unfolded. It is exactly what I warned about it, in this blog when I tried to explain how to frame the issues and that the boycott was not the best tactic.

Sadly Cohen made his statements and waited to long to apologize. Sadly too many websites were irresponsible and fanned the flames. Sadly this all unleashed a torrent of hate. Sadly the American press focused on that hate because it overshadows the most important thing- grief for the victims and insuring the tragedy never happens again. Sadly it also makes football fans seem again like a bunch of angry nuts.

I wasn’t just against the boycott because I thought Cohen was right and should not apologize. I was against it because I knew it was going to be counter productive and a lot of the communication was irresponsible and worse than what Cohen had said.

Now the historic record is three mainstream media pieces that portray the game and its fans as nuts. A series of websites and message boards with death threats and racist statements and a bunch of hate.

Yes, Cohen started it, but the actions of others have been equally irresponsible. Sad story. It is tough to watch a preventable car wreck. Maybe you won’t get it.

The tragedy begets tragedy. I can’t see how any of this has honored the memory of the 96 or the countless other fans who have lost their lives in tragic incidents.

“Phillip have you ever heard of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving? Or the Victim’s Rights Movement? All kinds of people on a daily basis act in solidarity with others in similar situations and to prevent the tragedy from happening in the future.”

“But of course it is only outrageous if it is about LIverpool.”

So Mark, presumably you’ll be posting on any websites that are against drink driving saying “it’s only outrageous if it’s about sons/daughters killed by drink driving”. And then I guess you’ll contact those campaigning for victims rights telling them “..but of course it’s only outrageous if it is about victims rights”. This hang up you’ve got, about how because people protest something, it must automatically mean they don’t care about anything else, is genuinely extraordinary.

I don’t think I have ever encountered such a confused viewpoint as your own. You imply day after day, over and over again, that because people want to boycott Cohen, they automatically therefore by definition don’t care about anything else. And yet you are on here posting about the boycott every single day, even though you think it’s trivial. You can’t be regarded as a serious person with such a bizarre, illogical outlook.

But of course the protest is only outrageous if it is about Hillsborough. Right?

You’re ridiculous.