‘Disaster waiting to happen’: Hillsborough survivors react to crowd concerns at Newcastle FA Cup
A survivor of the Hillsborough disaster insists lessons have still not been learned after Newcastle fans complained of overcrowding at their FA Cup third-round defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
The Football Association is to speak to officials from both clubs after footage emerged on social media of congestion issues around the exit to the tunnel in the Leppings Lane End with reports of fans ripping out security screening to give themselves more room.
Martin Hardy, the Northern sports correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times, posted a picture on twitter calling it: "Hillsborough 2023. Newcastle fans trying to get through the tunnel at the Leppings Lane end with more or less no stewarding ten minutes before kick-off. Unbelievable."
Peter Scarfe, who runs the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance and was at the ground in 1989 when 97 Liverpool fans died, said Saturday’s scenes showed there were still problems.
“It’s history repeating itself isn’t it? Lessons obviously haven’t been learned,” he said.
“Grounds now are about standing and rail seating and you kind of think this wouldn’t happen any more but it seems to in Sheffield.
“It is a disaster waiting to happen. Nearly 34 years of experience and research and mistakes to learn from and they just obviously haven’t.”
Fans claimed on social media there was a lack of stewarding before the game and that they were crammed in and the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust has appealed for information.
“People will panic. If you are new to the stadium and you have heard the stories you are bound to panic,” added Scarfe.
“The amount of messages which have come through today shows that people are being re-triggered because the same thing is happening again.
“No-one is listening to us and lessons are not being learned. We are not here crying in our beer, we are trying to prevent people going through what we went through.”
Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool, West Derby, and survivor of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, said his "soul was chilled" seeing images of overcrowding at the match last weekend.
He said: “You’d never have thought that in 2023 you’d be seeing those images again.
“It really brought back bad memories to be honest.
"It was soul chilling and I'm sure thousands and thousands of people who were at Hillsborough that day in 1989 felt exactly the same."
He hopes this time the FA has learnt its lesson and will listen to fans.
Mr Byrne said: "It looks like luckily no one was injured this time and disaster was averted.
"The FA needs to listen this time, obviously we [Liverpool fans] have had a really bad experience with the FA in 1989, so hopefully they've learnt lessons and can actually listen to the fans and believe the them this time, so we can get to the bottom of it.
A spokesperson from South Yorkshire Police said: "While no official reports were made to SYP, we have noted the concerns raised and will be seeking a debrief with the club and Safety Advisory Group to discuss this matter further."
The FA said: "As guidance, we are aware of the matter in question, and we will be looking into it. This will focus on liaising closely with the clubs, police and appropriate safety authorities."
Sheffield Wednesday have yet to comment.