Bill Shankly, the famous Liverpool manager said "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. They're wrong, it's much more important than that!"

This week is the 20th Anniversary of Hillsborough Disaster - one of those events which serve to put things in perspective on Shankly's statement. While mostly true, his tongue in cheek statement was never meant to be taken literally. And in the 1980s, there were 2 events which taught us exactly why.

Hillborough was Sheffield United's home ground and Liverpool were there to play a semifinal against Nottingham Forrest. Those familiar with English football will remember that English football fans were marked out for their violent behaviour both on and off the pitch. Fights inside stadiums were common. Pitch invations, throwing projectiles onto the pitch or post match violence was common.

It was in response to the hooliganism that Stadiums like Hillsborough had put up wire messing and separated the stadium into pens - first 3 and then 5. It was specifically the Leppings Lane end that the concerns existed. The unfortunate part of the story is that this wasn't a sudden or random occurence. In 81 another crush injured some 38 people at Hillsborough, which led to the creation of pens. Liverpool and Forest played the FA Cup semifinal in 1988 and there were many complaints of crushing - a complaint was lodged by Liverpool before the infamous semifinal.

As with most disasters, a series of relatively unrelated incidents conspired. Roadworks on the motorways led to initial delays. This led to a large build of fans eager to get into the ground. Issues with ticketing created a situation where there were more fans than spaces. A huge crowd had built up outside the stadium with fans still trying to get in through the turnstiles as the game kicked off. In order to prevent injuries outside the ground, the stewards and police opened a gate and fans rushed in creating a bigger crush inside the ground.

The hundreds of fans pushed into the stadium into the pens and were pushed up against the fencing in front of the pens. Sadly they could have been directed into the side pens where there was enough space but in fact ended up pushing into the same pen.

6 minutes into the game the referee stopped the game under advise from the police. The people were being crushed at in the pen and pushed against the fence. A gate in the fencing allowed some to escape. Others were climbing over it. But most were crushed against the fencing. The fence broke under the pressure. By then people had already suffered fatal injuries. The football stadium quickly became a first aid centre.

Advertising hoardings were used as stretchers and fans attended to other fans. The police and infrastructure were under-prepared to deal with the emergency. Apparently of the 40 odd ambulances that arrived at the stadium, the police let only one into the ground.

Most people were simply crushed to death under the pressure. The police were still trying to prevent Liverpool supporters from reaching the Forest fans, but in fact ended up preventing them from reaching the ambulances. 766 people were injured, 300 people were taken to the hospital 94 died on the day. 2 more died in hospital - one 4 days later and another fan, after spending 4 years in coma.

The football world was in shock. Liverpool players personally attended the funerals of as many fans as they could. Alan Hansen recounts the day when he visited one of the 2 critically injured people in hospital and the 14 year old boys mother waited for the players to come before the life support system was turned off. Nothing in football prepares you for this. But at the same time it brings people together as a community that nothing else can. Among the first people to visit Anfield and make a personal donation for the families of the affected was one Alex Ferguson. The fact that he kept it a relative secret suggests that it was a gesture that came from the heart.

According to the Wikipedia, in the European Cup European Cup semi final between AC Milan and Real Madrid on April 89, the referee blew his whistle 6 minutes into the game to stop play and hold a minute's silence for those who lost their lives tragically at Hillsborough. Half way through the minute's silence, the A.C. Milan fans sang Liverpool's "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a sign of respect.

Today, 20 years on, Liverpool fans still carry the wounds from the disaster. One of the villains of the day was the Sun Magazine UK, which suggested that Liverpool fans were stealing from the bodies of the deceased. To this day, the magazine has not won their way back into the hearts of Liverpool fans.

The biggest failure in the disaster was the inability of the police to deal with a fast escalating situation - something they could not have been trained for, but should have been more alert to, nonetheless. The fallout of the Hillsborough disaster was the conversion of all stadiums into all-seater stadiums. Although the alcohol consumption, stadium design - number of turnstiles, and other factors were also involved.

They say adversity defines character and unites opposites. This is an example of a disaster that shaped English football, Liverpool Football Club and for fans themselves.

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