Wembley was set again to
host another memorable encounter between London’s cross town rivals Chelsea FC
and Tottenham Hotspurs, just a day after Liverpool had beaten their city rivals
Everton 2-1 in an exciting encounter. At stake was the chance to play Liverpool
FC in the Finals of the FA Cup, the most prestigious domestic cup in England.
On Saturday Liverpool and
Everton fans stood in silence to pay respect to the victims before the first FA
Cup semi-final.
Before kick-off in the FA
Cup semi-final, the 90,000 supporters inside the stadium were asked to mark the
23rd anniversary of the tragedy in silence. In normal circumstances such
tributes are expected to last a minute but yesterday’s was reportedly described
by the stadium announcer as a “moment’s” silence, giving the match referee the
option to cut it short. A section among the Chelsea supporters jeered and booed
during the tribute, with a chant of “murderers” reported. The referee ended the
silence to the 96 victims after less than half a minute. Chelsea FC has vowed
to root out those among a section of the club’s fans who were seen to disrupt
the minute’s silence in honor of the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy.
A minute’s silence was
impeccably observed at 3.06pm – the exact moment the referee blew his whistle
to abandon the game as the disaster unfolded. Referee Martin Atkinson
eventually cut short the minute as the noise from the Chelsea end continued.
Families of the victims
and thousands of fans were joined by Liverpool FC manager Kenny Dalglish and
his players for a memorial service at the club’s Anfield ground earlier in the
day.. They paid tribute to those who died in the crush at the Leppings Lane end
of Sheffield Wednesday’s ground at the beginning of an FA Cup semi-final
against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.Families of the victims
and thousands of fans were joined by Liverpool FC manager Kenny Dalglish and
his players for a memorial service at the club’s Anfield ground earlier in the
day.. They paid tribute to those who died in the crush at the Leppings Lane end
of Sheffield Wednesday’s ground at the beginning of an FA Cup semi-final
against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.
Chelsea fans’ behavior
was shocking not just to the millions viewer who witnessed it on TV but to
those who remained silent throughout the short span of silence observed.
Following the chants, fans who had stayed silent booed. It was more of a
disrespectful action to say the least. Football pundits and experts united in
condemning the actions of the Fans, who could have just shown a bit of respect
to the people who lost their lives.
Commentator Clive
Tyldesley was strong to condemn the action, he said: “Is it really asking too much to observe a few moments of
silence once a year for the victims of Hillsborough? The reflections of the
many spoilt by the thoughtlessness of the few here at Wembley”’
One viewer wrote: "I hope the filth that ruined the minute’s silence
never experience a family member leaving to go and watch a match and dying at
the game."
After the incident the
club spokesman said: “Chelsea
Football Club is extremely disappointed a very small minority of fans
embarrassed the club today by not honoring the moment’s silence.”
“Chelsea
FC believes all moments of respect should be honored and today we pay our full
respects to all those that suffered as a result of the Hillsborough disaster
23 years ago.”
"The
club will be working with Wembley and the FA to identify those
responsible and if we are provided with evidence that season-ticket holders or
members have been involved we will take the strongest possible action against
them."
"Chelsea Football
Club is extremely disappointed that a very small minority of fans embarrassed
the club today by not honoring the moment's silence before kick-off," Chelsea said in a statement.
Chelsea manager Roberto
Di Matteo also voiced his dismay."We are extremely
disappointed that a minority or just a few fans decided to speak or sing during
the minute's silence," Di Matteo said.
They would go on to
thrash Tottehnham 5-1 to book a place in the final. After the incident Chelsea
FC has issued a formal apology to Liverpool for the unruly behavior from a
section of its fans. The damage however has been done; this is surely set to
put a dent on Chelsea’s reputation. In my opinion, it was not about Liverpool
FC and its supporters, but it’s more about the 96 people who went to a football
match never to return home and it’s about mutual respect for football
altogether. It's far from my understanding how can anyone be
so disrespectful, all they were asked to do was to stay silent for a
minute. They did it for reasons best known to them; their intentions may be to
raise their voice against the injustice, whatever the reasons might be
it's just not right from anyone's point of view. There is time to do everything
and if they did it with good intentions, they picked up a very wrong timing.
Having said that, Chelsea, to be honest, have lost my respect after what has
happened. Not because I am a Liverpool fan but because I know paying respect to
the dead is the least thing that everyone can do.
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