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Manchester City Apologizes for Fans' Chants During Tribute to Hillsborough Victims
April 16, 2022
Manchester City issued an apology after supporters interrupted a remembrance of the Hillsborough tragedy before Saturday's FA Cup semifinal against Liverpool.
"Manchester City are extremely disappointed with the actions of some City supporters during the minute's silence before today's game," the club said, per ESPN's James Olley. "The club sincerely apologizes to all those connected with Liverpool Football Club."
Referee Michael Oliver was forced to cut the moment of silence short because some City fans continued to chant, per Olley.
In April 1989, overcrowding at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium for an FA Cup match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest caused a crush that killed 97 people and injured 766.
A 395-page review of the disaster by the Hillsborough Independent Panel released in 2012 determined initial suggestions that alcohol use by Liverpool fans was a key factor in the tragedy was "inappropriate and misleading" and suggested up to 41 lives could have been saved "had the emergency response been better."
Court cases related to the tragedy have continued for more than three decades.
Last May, UK appellate court judge William Davis ruled three men who were accused of altering police statements—Donald Denton, Alan Foster and Peter Metcalf—in order to reduce blame on the South Yorkshire Police couldn't move forward because they had "no case to answer."
"We've got the death certificate with 96 unlawfully killed but yet not one person has been held to account," Margaret Aspinall, whose son died at the match, told BBC News.
Andrew Devine, who suffered life-altering injuries at the match, became the 97th death attributed to the disaster when he died in July.
Several memorials have been set up in remembrance of the victims, including one at Hillsborough Stadium. The venue opened in 1899 and underwent safety improvements after the tragedy.
Liverpool won Saturday's match, 3-2, to advance to the FA Cup final. The Reds will face the winner of Sunday's fixture between Chelsea and Crystal Palace for the trophy on May 14.