The Hillsborough Football Stadium Disaster, April 15, 1989

Abstract

On Saturday, April 15, 1989, the worst disaster in English football history occurred in terms of loss of life. In total, 96 men, women, and children died as a result of events on that day, the youngest being just 10 years old. At approximately 3:00 p.m., at the Football Association’s (FA’s) seminal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, football fans died from crushrelated injuries, and 766 were injured. is mass fatality event occurred at Hillsborough Football Stadium in Shešeld. South Yorkshire Police were policing the event and already engaged in crowd control, as thousands of fans were expected to attend the stadium as a result of the match. e ground had been used as the venue for the FA Cup seminal the year before involving the same teams, and the xture had been played without any signicant crowd problems. Due to the high level of sta required, it was necessary to have plain-clothed police ošcers working in uniform to provide additional sta. On an occasion such as this (with approximately 54,000 spectators expected), the policing operation was complex. In all, some 1,122 police ošcers were deployed that day-almost 38% of South Yorkshire Police’s personnel (Figure 9.1). Included in the mounted section of 34 were ošcers from Liverpool and Nottingham, who were present to assist with marshaling their own supporters. Shešeld Wednesday Football Club provided 376 stewards, gate sta, and turnstile operators on the day (Taylor, 1989).