You'll Never Walk Alone

The name Hillsborough has always evoked much less emotion in me than Heysel, although the number of deaths incurred in the former incident more than doubled that of the latter. Happening so far away from home, such tragedies are bound to have less impact on us Asian fans than those whose own countrymen or even mates in their own cities were affected. The reason why Heysel has left a special memory was that, as I wrote on 17 March, I stayed awake in the small hours on that fateful day to watch the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus and witnessed the event on TV.

But my knowedge of Hillsborough has been enriched and my feelings deepened after reading Kenny Dalglish's account of it in his book My Liverpool Home. I read about how the 96 innocent people lost their life in the stadium twenty-two years ago today, how a newspaper fabricated stories about the behaviours of the fans, how some people's mistakes might have been responsible for the avoidable accident. Mr Dalglish has never been able to get over the tragedy, and he was so gripped and devastated by it that he eventually stepped down from his job as manager of the club. But his unwavering support of the families of the bereaved, from doing everything possible to comfort them right after the deaths to pursuing justice and accountability to this day, is truly admirable. There is no better example of walking the talk of "You'll Never Walk Alone".