Players and fans from Liverpool and their arch-rivals Manchester United paid a poignant tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster ahead of their match on Sunday.
The words ‘The Truth’, ‘Justice’ and ’96’ were spelled out by spectators holding red and white cards in Liverpool’s first home match since a report absolved their fans of blame for the 1989 disaster in which 96 supporters died.
The tone was set when Manchester United’s players emerged on to the pitch at Anfield with ’96’ on the backs of their tracksuits, earning loud applause from the 44,000 crowd.
Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton presented former Liverpool striker Ian Rush with red roses before Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and his United counterpart Ryan Giggs released 96 red balloons, one for each of the dead.
Gerrard’s cousin, 10-year-old Jon-Paul Gilhooley, was the youngest fan to die in the disaster at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool forward Luis Suarez shook hands in the pre-match line-up with United’s Senegalese-born French defender Patrice Evra, whom he racially abused last season, ensuring the incident did not overshadow the commemorations.
United won the Premier League match 2-1 after a typically contentious encounter between the two sides, but manager Alex Ferguson said the afternoon had been about far more than football.
“Liverpool did a fantastic job today, the fans were terrific and I don’t think there can be any complaint on that part,” he said.
“It was a nice touch Bobby Charlton giving the bouquet to Ian Rush and it demonstrates these two clubs can do things with unity and then we got on with the game.
“There was ferocity and it was intense and it has been a good day for football.”
Ferguson and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had appealed for calm ahead of the match amid fears the tensions which always accompany the meeting of England’s two most successful teams would spill over.
The United manager had written to his club’s fans urging them to show respect to the Hillsborough dead, saying the clubs’ intense rivalry “should never be based on personal hatred”.
The long-awaited independent probe into what happened at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium 23 years ago absolved Liverpool supporters of any responsibility for the disaster, and was heavily critical of the police.
It found that the accounts of some officers had been changed to deflect blame onto the Liverpool fans, and that dozens of the dead might have survived if they had been treated quicker.
The report was the result of a long campaign for justice by relatives of the dead after the police at the time blamed drunken fans for causing the overcrowding that led to the disaster.
Outside Anfield, flowers were laid at a memorial to the dead and a Manchester United shirt was attached to the railings. On it was written: “For the Hillsborough families. Justice at last.”
