Hillsborough - Minutes applause at both Wembley semis

The FA have planned for a minutes applause at the FA Cup semi finals to mark the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough.

First of all, I was under the impression that a minutes applause was used to celebrate somebody's life? How can you applaud the deaths of 96 people killed in a disaster? It's F***ing madness!

The minutes applause also seems to have been brought in to stop the minority ruining any minutes silence, and definitely looks to be the case with this one.

Might as well give the mancs a F***ing songsheet to sing aswell. You only have to look at some of the sh*te posted on Facebook to see what a bad idea this is. A minutes applause is disrespectful and as much as I'm sure Everton and Arsenal would respect it, Chelsea (on the back of our games as well) and United doesnt bare thinking about, it will cause a lot more hurt.

I feel the same about this.

I can see that they're doing it because the minute's silence would be interrupted by some gobshites but a minutes applause for the death of 96 people just doesn't sound right does it.

If they want to do something they should just have the players wear a black armband or something simple.

Justice for the 96.
YNWA

To be honest, I think they should have a minutes silence.

If the fans want to make noise during it then they will be the ones looking like cu*ts.

What an appaling idea.

Has this been confirmed, or is it just in the possibility stage at the moment?

Dont know about this one at all.

Everton fans or 99% at least will respect it im sure. Arsenal I dont think theres much hassle between the clubs down the years so I think they'd be ok. Chelsea, well a huge amount of there support probably werent even football fans in 89 and so wont know the ins and outs and because its for Liverpool they could act up. The mancs decent fanbase will be outnumbered by the scum Im sure so expect no respect from them.

Just give the players black armbands and leave the fans out of it

Just give the players black armbands and leave the fans out of it

Totally agree there...........

Just give the players black armbands and leave the fans out of it

Agree as well, and just let us get on with having our remembrance service and minutes silence against Blackburn.

To be honest, I think they should have a minutes silence.

If the fans want to make noise during it then they will be the ones looking like cu*ts.

One of the reasons The FA has decided to have this applause is because Lord Triesman is keen to have Hillsborough remembered, inviting the families down to the games to mark the occasion, inviting them onto the pitch, flowers being presented then the minutes applause. Saw most of this a week ago on a chelsea forum and the idea was given the thumbs down with some sensible comments, but also with the usual sh*t, sickening comments.

Agree with Triesman's sentiments, but just feel uneasy about the whole idea.

Although I don't approve of the minutes applause I can see the sense in it, especially if the families are going down to Wembley. If there's the comments we expect from certain sections of certain fans then it'll be harder to pick out with the applause, which hopefully will be easier on the families.

I really don't know what to say - it's a shame that our country is filled with such tw*ts.

Even inviting the families down, be it a minutes applause or a minutes silence, there is going to be a minority who ruin it for the families.

I don't see why we should have a minutes applause for the death of 96 Liverpool fans.  It should be a minutes silence, and it should be impeccably observed.  Why should we have to tolerate dickheads and make amendments for them?

Spot on JD.

That is ridicolous I dont think I have ever heard of a death anniversary being honoured by a means of applause.

If there are tossers out there who will not respect it, they are the ones that should be walking around red faced in embarrasment and shame.

F*CKING IDIOTS!!!!

This is stupid, a minutes applause! I'm disgusted, is there anything we can do surely Liverpool FC directors/officials will object to this.

YNWA 96

If there are tossers out there who will not respect it, they are the ones that should be walking around red faced in embarrasment and shame.

I've already had a stand up row with a Bitter today about this.  You know the type that states "Why are you still carrying this on?"    I mean FFS !!   Are they really that stupid ?  Thick bas**rds. 

To be honest, I think they should have a minutes silence.

If the fans want to make noise during it then they will be the ones looking like cu*ts.

Sums it up perfectly for me.

What a disgrace. 

I've already had a stand up row with a Bitter today about this.  You know the type that states "Why are you still carrying this on?"    I mean FFS !!   Are they really that stupid ?  Thick bas**rds. 

Absolutely appalling.  And if it was a scouser it's ten times worse.

Strangest carry on I've ever heard. You would think that the families should have been consulted. Ah its a bad idea, goes to show how insensitive some people are.

Those who want to carry on like cu*ts then let them be, karma will get them but a minute of applause is absolutely disgraceful.

Applause is a form of congratulations, what is there to congratulate? Thick headed cu*ts.

Fairy decent article from The Times Online.

How should football pay its respects 20 years after Hillsborough?

Oliver Kay

There will be no minute’s silence at this season’s FA Cup semi-finals to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. Black armbands will be worn by the players of all four clubs, but, while there will be a minute’s applause before the match between Arsenal and Chelsea on Saturday, April 18, there are no plans for any further tribute when Everton meet Manchester United the day after.

This difficult decision was reached after dialogue between the FA and the Hillsborough Family Support Group — and, before conspiracy theories take hold, it is understood to have been made before the semi-final line-up was known. But if a minute’s silence does not seem appropriate, then nor does a minute’s applause — not for the kind of sombre reflection that Hillsborough should elicit in every football supporter. So how exactly should football pay its respects to the 96 Liverpool fans who travelled to Sheffield on April 15, 1989, and never came home?

The best answer is a simple one: education. Last year’s 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, which was managed with great dignity by Manchester United, allowed a generation of fans to learn more about a tragedy that is woven into the fabric of our national sport. Compared with the tale of those fun-loving, though ill-fated, Busby Babes, the story of Hillsborough is unremittingly grim — even the Taylor report, heavy on legal jargon, alternately turns the stomach and sends shivers down the spine — but it is one that merits a level of understanding that, 20 years on, does not seem to exist.

There is a staggering amount of ignorance, much of it wilful. At first there was the smear campaign against Liverpool’s supporters, orchestrated from within South Yorkshire Police in an appalling attempt to divert attention from the “failure of police control” that the Taylor report blamed for the disaster. Then there are the myths that are lapped up by rival fans, who, ignoring the police negligence on the day and the complacency that allowed a semi-final to take place at a ground that did not have an up-to-date safety certificate, prefer to blame their fellow football supporters rather than the inhumane treatment to which they had long grown accustomed by the late 1980s.

Even the families of the victims seem unsure how they want you to mark the anniversary, perhaps reflecting the range of emotions that endure to this day. But whether or not you are asked to stand in silent reflection, take a moment or two to remind yourself what really happened. The truth, the real truth, is out there.

The first semi has just kicked off. I didn't see anything before the kick off.

Anyone know what happened?

The first semi has just kicked off. I didn't see anything before the kick off.

Anyone know what happened?

Not watching, but listening on 5 live.

Apparently Arsenal aren't wearing black arm bands  but Chelsea are, anyone confirm this?

There are some families from the Hillsborough disaster present, as they have been invited.

I think I heard as well that flowers were laid in memory of the '96'



Off topic.....but they were talking about Kenny Dalglish getting a knighthood, saying how he deserves one, not only for his footballing skills but for the way he dealt and coped with the Hillsborough Disaster.

Not watching, but listening on 5 live.

Apparently Arsenal aren't wearing black arm bands  but Chelsea are, anyone confirm this?

There are some families from the Hillsborough disaster present, as they have been invited.

I think I heard as well that flowers were laid in memory of the '96'



Off topic.....but they were talking about Kenny Dalglish getting a knighthood, saying how he deserves one, not only for his footballing skills but for the way he dealt and coped with the Hillsborough Disaster.

I just heard the black armbands are being worn by Chelsea  in order to pay tributes to those who perished in the Ivory Coast in a crush in the stadium.

I just heard the black armbands are being worn by Chelsea  in order to pay tributes to those who perished in the Ivory Coast in a crush in the stadium.

Well I heard him say that Drogba had the armband on as well  for the Ivory Coast crush.

Both teams did have black arm bands on as a mark of respect for the 96 people that died at Hillsborough.

Apparently Arsenal forget to wear their black arm bands in the first half, according to Alan Green. Once reminded, they wore thiers in the second half. yet what we shouldn't forget is that Arsenal were one one of the few premiership clubs to mention Hillsborough on their offical websites. So I don't wish for any heavy criticsm directed towards them