Fight for justice in name of 97 killed in Hillsborough Disaster grinds on 37 years on from stadium tragedy
37 years on, and the gears of justice still turn slowly for the families and victims of the Hillsborough disaster - but they are turning.
Last year, on the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, many claimed justice had still not been served. Today, on the 37th anniversary, the gears may slowly be in motion.
The incident in 1989 where 97 football fans lost their lives in a crush on the terraces during a match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest still scars the nation to this day.
The FA Cup semi-final brought thousands of football fans together in Sheffield for what should have been a great sporting occasion and family day out at Hillsborough football stadium.
But, just before kick-off, match day commander, David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C on Leppings Lane to be opened in an attempt to ease the crowd of thousands of Liverpool fans gathered outside.
This fateful decision saw far more fans that the stadium had capacity for funnelling into two ‘standing only’ pens, which were fenced off to separate the terraces from the pitch.
In the minutes that followed, a catastrophic crush unfolded. Hundreds of fans pressed into one another, causing physical injuries and squeezing the breath out of many.
Famous photos show how victims were pulled to safety by fans in the overhead stands.
But by the end of the day, 94 Liverpool fans were dead, and two more died in the following days. In 2021, a coroner ruled that another fan, who died 32 years later after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the terraces, was to be recorded as the disaster’s 97th victim.
Another 760 were injured - while thousands of Liverpool fans were falsely painted as drunk, disorderly, and abusive to a police force whose seniors were actively seeking to cover up their involvement.
Inquests into the deaths of the football fans who lost their lives recorded verdicts of accidental death initially, while the national press and senior police officers laid blame on the fans.
Then, in 2012, an independent panel’s findings were published and revealed that 164 police statements were altered - 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the ill-fated FA Cup semi-final on the day of the disaster. It concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster.
Then, in 2016, an inquest concluded that the victims were unlawfully killed due to a number of police errors.
It has been 10 years this root of the injustice was laid bare to all. But families campaigned long before this ruling, and they are still campaigning today.
Just one person has been convicted for anything related to the Hillsborough disaster, which was for a health and safety offence.
In 2019, David Duckenfield, the police commander in charge at Hillsborough stadium on the day of the disaster, was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the deaths of the football fans.
However, one controversial highlight in the last year was in December 2025, when the chair of the South Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation, Steve Kent, branded a report on the disaster as “unfair”, “opinions dressed up as fact” and “a waste of taxpayers’ money” after claiming it did not give rank-and-file officers the chance to respond to allegations.
He spoke out after the Independent Office for Police Conduct found 327 statements from officers were amended to control evidence and deflect blame for the disaster.
It also said 12 officers - 10 from South Yorkshire - would have faced charges of gross misconduct if legislation at the time required police to have a duty of candour - set to be introduced by the forthcoming Hillsborough Law.
“Our former colleagues do not have and have not had the right to reply to any accusations,” he said. "They should not face trial by media.”
Meanwhile, campaigners continue to fight for changes, and frequent comparisons are drawn between Hillsborough and disasters like Grenfell and the Post Office scandal - all examples of sluggish, opaque enquiries held behind the scenes that enable the people responsible for the greatest abuses of trust in the UK to go without accountability for years and years.
Sheffield Wednesday FC will hold its annual service to ‘remember the 97’ at 2:50pm at the permanent memorial site adjacent to the South Stand bridge.
The service is scheduled to run for approximately 25 minutes, during which time Parkside Road traffic will be suspended.
Owls manager Henrik Pedersen and captain Liam Palmer will lay a wreath on behalf of the club.