You'll Never Walk AloneOn the 26th anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster, we remember the tragic loss of 96 lives and highlight the solidarity between Celtic and Liverpool. For those of us who stood on the Hampden terracing on April 16, 1989, observing a minute’s silence before Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibernian in memory of the Liverpool supporters who had lost their lives the previous day, the overriding thought was ‘There but for the grace of God…’
The television pictures which captured the unfolding horror at Hillsborough, showing the injured and dying being carried onto the pitch by frantic friends and fellow supporters, soon covering up any sign of grass, the mounting death toll announced with a sense of disbelief by reporters stunned at what they were witnessing, were horrifically mesmerising.
Because hadn’t we all, at one time or other, crammed into antiquated grounds, with crumbling terracing and inadequate facilities, hemmed in by fences and barriers initially constructed as safety features to prevent any possible pitch invasion?
Supporters were corralled into spaces designed for half the numbers they were holding, and there were times when the frantic and relentless forward surges of the crowd would carry you along without any momentum of your own. There but for the grace of God…
Football should be a celebration, a joyful coming together of a group of people all with a common bond – support of a team. It is, after all, called ‘the beautiful game’. There are highs and lows – that is the nature of competitive sport – but those ‘triumphs’ and ‘disasters’ should only be about the winning or losing of a football match.
There has always been tragedy associated with the game. On rare occasions, a player has died during a match – and as a club, Celtic are aware of that as much as anyone; individual families will have experienced the terrible heartache of losing a loved one who has suddenly taken ill while watching a game.
Yet, the magnitude of what happened on April 15, 1989 is still almost too much to comprehend. On that bright spring day, Liverpool supporters travelled through to Sheffield to cheer on their team in an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. They would have done so with a sense of optimism – wasn’t their team one of the best in the land – and with a mounting excitement that is a faithful companion for every big football match.
Ninety-six supporters would lose their lives that day, crushed and suffocated amid the chaos which had developed in the ground, a cruel and heartless way to die and a senseless waste of so many lives, young and old. There but for the grace of God…
The bonds of solidarity between our two clubs have always been strong, and Celtic’s actions in the aftermath of the tragedy helped Liverpool take their firsts steps on the long and tortuous road to recovery. Celtic had offered any practical assistance possible to Liverpool and that came in the form of a friendly match on April 30, 1989 at Celtic Park. Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool side had considered not playing again that season, but largely as a result of the wishes of the victims' families, eventually vowed to carry on. And their return to the football field came in Glasgow in a match against Celtic when all the proceeds went to the Disaster Appeal Fund. On that day, a crowd of over 60,000, including some 6,000 Liverpool fans, gathered for what was an emotional occasion. Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners against a Celtic side which had played an away match at Pittodrie the day before, but the result was of secondary importance. For this was a day when the Celtic supporters excelled themselves in front of a global audience. After a dignified and perfect minute's silence, both sets of fans spent as much time chanting for the opposing team as their own before, during and after the match. The most moving moment came when red and green scarves were raised in unison for arguably the most emotionally-charged rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in history.
The Disaster Appeal was boosted to the tune of almost £500,000 and the then Liverpool Chairman John Smith led the tributes, saying: “The Celtic supporters have shown once more that they can hold their heads high with the best of them. Anyone who has become disillusioned by football because of a series of events over the last few years should have been at Celtic Park on Sunday."
"The Celtic fans are the greatest," said Kenny Dalglish. "It wasn't just their money but their warmth and compassion which means so much to Liverpool at this time.
"It was fantastic that it was at Celtic. The way the day went, the magnificent manner in which the supporters conducted themselves, was a tremendous credit to both clubs but more importantly to football itself.
“During the minute's silence, you could have heard a tear drop. When all the supporters sang 'You'll Never Walk alone I nearly broke down, it was so emotional.”
In the subsequent years, Celtic supporters have continued to show their solidarity with the families of the Hillsborough victims who continued to campaign for the truth about what happened on that terrible day, and demand justice for their relatives. A regular banner at Celtic was one with a simple appeal - ‘JUSTICE FOR THE 96’. It offered support to the campaign which called for the truth to be told as to what happened at Hillsborough and that those responsible were held to account.
On this day, Wednesday, April 15, 2015, we remember the 96 people who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Our thoughts and prayers remain with their families, and we hope that they will soon have the truth and justice that they have campaigned so courageously for over these past 26 years. And our sympathy, as a support and as a football club, extends to Liverpool, the city and the club, on what is always a difficult and emotional anniversary. They will never walk alone.
von Gollum » Do 5. Feb 2015, 14:28 
Liverpool tut sich auch sehr sehr schwer.
Glaube nicht mal, dass eine Klatsche morgen was daran ändern würde.
