As Hillsborough anniversary approaches, football must not forget all those who have been loved and lost in stadium tragedies
Ian Hambridge was 15 years old and standing next to a 12ft wall at St Andrew's when it collapsed during rioting between Birmingham and Leeds supporters on May 11 1985.
It is one of football’s forgotten tragedies.
On that fateful day he suffered injuries to his head and chest when the wall collapsed during the battles that took place during a pitch invasion.
He died in Smethwick’s Neurological Hospital the following day. It was his first football match.
Next month our game will unite, with supporters all over the country standing to respect the victims of the Hillsborough disaster on the 25th anniversary, before the re-scheduled 3.07pm kick-offs.
It is part of a planned weekend of remembrance for the 96 supporters who died at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989.
This is a sensitive and delicate issue, particularly at a distressing time for the families who demand the truth into the events that day.
The families of the victims are still waiting for answers after all this time. If they keep fighting they will get them.
The deaths of the 96 were not related to hooliganism, or the mindless acts of violence that took place at St Andrew's in 1985.
In Northampton, where the family of Ian Hambridge still live, they are still waiting for satisfactory answers nearly 30 years on.
They waved their son out of the family home that afternoon and he did not return. They have rarely spoken about the tragedy.
Ian had travelled with four friends, heading into Birmingham to watch them take on Eddie Gray’s team on the final day of the league season.
Even now the CCTV footage from that shameful day, taken from surveillance officers inside Birmingham City’s stadium, leaves you feeling dirty and disgusted.
When Mr Justice Popplewell delivered his report into the tragic events of 1985, he described the scenes at St Andrew's as ‘more like the Battle of Agincourt than a football match’.
The barbaric scenes, on the day Birmingham were supposed to be celebrating promotion back to the old First Division under Ron Saunders, do not belong to any age.
Even on YouTube, it should have an 18 certificate.
On the same day, 128 miles up the road at Valley Parade in Bradford, 56 supporters lost their lives when a fire broke out inside the Main Stand during their Third Division game against Lincoln.
The 250 or more who were injured, or suffered burns when the fire swept through the drafty stand five minutes before half-time, have largely been forgotten.
Later that month, when Liverpool travelled to Belgium to play Juventus in the European Cup final, 39 supporters died when a wall collapsed at the archaic Heysel Stadium. Football must remember.
It is as a result of these horrifying events that we now feel safe and secure when we head out to watch our teams around the country.
Security at stadium is vastly improved, there is more accessibility and the atmosphere is far more welcoming than it ever was in 1985.
Back then there was a menacing air at almost every match, with police herding visiting supporters from railways stations to terraces and leaving them to stew for hours before kick-off.
Stadiums were dilapidated, crumbling and antiquated. Many believed football was a dying sport.
There was a sinister under-current at almost every match, conditions that seem inconceivable unless you have actually experienced the oppressive atmosphere of football in the Eighties.
Today, football fans can mix in pubs and bars in town and city centres before matches, sharing a pre-match pint in a largely safe and secure environment.
This growing spirit within the game must be embraced and it is particularly poignant with the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough approaching.
On April 13, when Liverpool play Manchester City at Anfield in the Barclays Premier League, there will be a minute’s silence at 1.36pm.
Liverpool’s players will wear commemorative patches on their shirts and will continue to do so until the end of the season as a tribute to those who lost their lives.
Every other fixture, including those in the Football League and the Conference, will also pay their respects ahead of 3.07pm kick offs.
At the FA Cup semi-finals, the kick-off time for Arsenal-Wigan on Saturday April 12 has been moved to 5.07pm. The following day, Sheffield United’s clash with Hull is at 4.07pm.
It is to be hoped that every fan of every team in the country will respect the occasion by remaining silent in the minute before kick off.
When the referee’s whistle blows around the country next month, the attention will naturally turn to the tragic events at Hillsborough.
When they do, football must not forget all those who have been loved and lost.
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