Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Sir Dave Richards Backs Liverpool's Plea On Hillsborough Anniversary

Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards has thrown his weight behind Liverpool's call to avoid playing a Champions League game on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Richards, who was at the ill-fated semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's ground on April 15, 1989, presented a simple but compelling case as to why Liverpool should be allowed to concentrate on commemoration rather than competing for a semi-final berth.

"Liverpool shouldn't be playing on the anniversary of Hillsborough out of respect, more than anything, for the people that died, and we should keep that respect in football," said the former Wednesday chairman.

"Being involved with Sheffield Wednesday for a lot of years it has been a big thing in my life. I was at the game and I don't think that anyone will ever forget what happened that day.

"I was on the pitch. I had two doctors as my guests at the game and we all went down on to the pitch. It was very difficult and it took a long time to get over what happened but that tragedy drove me on to try to make things better."

He added: "I was an ordinary fan and came on to the Wednesday board the following June. It was a turning point for me because I became involved in football because of the Hillsborough disaster.

"It was a major turning point for the game in general thanks to Lord Justice Taylor with all-seater stadia and the way we come in and go out of grounds. It's a very significant date. A lot of great things have happened since and we have to do what we can to remember that."

The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals will be staged in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday, and the presence of four English clubs in the last eight is the source of immense pride for Richards.

"I feel terrifically proud because I'm also chairman of the European leagues," said Richards. "It's a fantastic achievement and we do take a bit of stick about our teams dominating Europe but it's a terrific accolade for English football."

Richards spoke after handing over a £30,000 donation of behalf of the Premier League to the Sunderland AFC Foundation for their work at the 'Barclays Spaces for Sport' site, the Washington Millennium Centre, Tyne and Wear.

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