Families of Hillsborough victims were outraged yesterday by plans for crowd control barriers at the stadium for the first time since the disaster.
Fences were blamed as contributing to the tragedy when 96 Liverpool fans penned into a packed section of terracing were crushed to death at a 1989 FA Cup semi-final.
Now metal barriers will be used to keep rival fans apart outside the ground at the Leppings Lane End where the Reds supporters died â and relatives are accusing police and Sheffield Wednesday of insensitivity for choosing an FA Cup match to use them for the first time.
The barriers will be tested to separate Wednesday and West Ham fans ahead of tomorrowâs third round clash.
Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James in the tragedy and who chairs the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said: âIt beggars belief that police have chosen an FA Cup match to test barriers.
âThey donât appear to have given any thought whatsoever to the upset this will cause families of those who died in 1989.
âItâs also incredible that they will test them at the Leppings Lane End. Irrespective of whether the barriers are inside or outside the stadium, it is in extremely poor taste.â
If the trial is successful, the metal fences will be used at the Sheffield derby between Wednesday and United next month.
South Yorkshire Police announced the trial of the barriers on its website on Thursday. A statement read: âThese barriers are to be trialled and then considered for use at the steel city derby in February.
"We do not anticipate any crowd control issues at the match but it is an opportunity to test the barriers in situ at a match.â
Liverpool fans reacted on internet forums. One wrote: âMy blood ran cold when I read that. I wouldnât be happy with any barriers, but at the Leppings Lane End of all places!â
But one Reds fan defended the testing of the barriers, previously used at Sheffield Unitedâs Bramall Lane stadium.
He wrote: âIt is not as bad as it sounds. It is basically them blocking off the road outside the ground. 10/10 for trying to make football safer for the majority of fans â 0/10 for the way they communicated it.â
A spokesman for Sheffield Wednesday said: âWeâre simply trying to enhance supporter safety. No offence is intended. The barriers were used before the derby at Bramall Lane and South Yorkshire Police want to use them again at Hillsborough.
âThe West Ham game is the most Âhigh-profile event we have at Hillsborough before the Sheffield derby, so it is the best time to do the trial.â
How the Mirror has campaigned for Hillsborough disaster victims
The Mirrorâs Justice for the 96 campaign began in 1996 when we demanded the inquiry be reopened to answer vital questions.
In 2000, we backed the Hillsborough Family Support Group after jurors in a trial of two police officers involved in the disaster failed to reach a verdict.
And on April 16, 2009 â 20 years on from the tragedy â we ran a front page story, again demanding Justice for the 96.
More recently, we helped promote the online e-petition calling for the release of secret Cabinet papers that attracted over 100,000 signatures.
In a House of Commons debate, Labour MP Andy Burnham called the cover-up âone of the biggest injustices of the 20th centuryâ.
Read more:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2012/01/07/hillsborough-victim-families-outraged-at-fa-cup-barrier-plans-115875-23685291/#ixzz1imQHSa5R
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