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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2015 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Police chief admits responsibility for Hillsborough deaths THE police officer in charge at Hillsborough has agreed that his failure to close a tunnel "was the direct cause of the deaths of 96 peo- ple". David Duckenfield made the ad- mission during his sixth day of questioning at the inquests into the 1989 tragedy. Asked if his failure to close a tun- nel through which Liverpool fans flowed into packed pens was "the direct cause of the deaths of 96 per- sons in the Hillsborough tragedy", he replied: "Yes, sir." Paul Greaney QC, representing the Police Federation, put it to the 70-year-old: "Do you agree that nev- er mind a competent match com- mander, it might only take a child of average intelligence to realise what the consequences of your actions might be?" Mr Duckenfield replied: "I did not think of it on the day, sir, because of the pressure I was under." As many as 2,000 supporters en- tered Gate C, many of whom headed straight for the tunnel in question. Mr Duckenfield argued he had "no idea" supporters would head through the tunnel. The retired chief superintendent of South Yorkshire Police admitted there was a "state of shock" in the control room and that he "froze", but denied claims he "bottled it" as the disaster unfolded in the Lep- pings Lane end. The inquests have heard how Mr Duckenfield told the 1989 Taylor Inquiry that he made the right deci- sions on the day - but he now accepts he made some "grave" errors. Mr Duckenfield has previously said he suffered post-traumatic stress - but here he declined to go into "personal circumstances". He conceded he may have been "confused" when he gave evidence at the original inquiry into the dis- aster, which occurred at the start of an FA Cup semi-final between Liv- erpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April, 1989. Mr Duckenfield replied: "I did not of South Yorkshire Police admitted there was a "state of shock" in the Mr Duckenfield has previously said he suffered post-traumatic Former Chief Superintendent of South Yorkshire Police David Duckenfi eld The Hillsborough disaster caused the death of 96 football fans who were crushed to death Sunderland appoint Dick Advocaat Sunderland have announced the appointment of Dick Advocaat as head coach until the end of the season THE 67-year-old Dutchman replac- es Gus Poyet, who was dismissed on Monday after 17 months in charge. A Sunderland statement read: "Sunderland AFC has appointed Dick Advocaat as head coach until the end of the current season. "The Dutchman brings a wealth of experience to the Stadium of Light, with over 30 years in man- agement at both club and interna- tional level." The club moved quickly to appoint Advocaat after parting company with Poyet, whose final match in charge was Saturday's 4-0 home de- feat to Aston Villa - a result which left Sunderland one point and one place above the relegation zone. Advocaat has been in management for over three decades, including two stints in charge of Holland and was most recently coach of Serbia, who he left last year. He has never managed in England before but did spend four years at Rangers between 1998 and 2002, winning the league and cup double twice. Aside from Scotland, Advocaat has also won league titles in his homeland with PSV Eindhoven, and in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg. Sunderland chairman Ellis Short said: "Dick has an incredible CV and vast experience of managing at the very highest level. We have one aim only now - to climb the table and everyone is fully focused on the task ahead of us." The Black Cats are next in Premier League action against West Ham on Saturday and the new coach is look- ing forward to getting started. He said: "Sunderland is a big club and I am very much looking for- ward to the challenge ahead. We must now concentrate on Saturday as a priority and I can't wait to get started." Advocaat stepped down as Serbia coach in November, the day after a 3-1 Euro 2016 qualifying defeat against Denmark which left them joint-bottom in Group I. He had been just four months into a two-year contract after replacing Sinisa Mihajlovic and had been in charge for three games. Sunderland have announced that Advocaat will be joined at the Sta- dium of Light by Zeljko Petrovic - his assistant coach with Serbia - as first-team coach and former Swan- sea and England Under-20 goal- keeping coach Adrian Tucker. Paul Bracewell, Sunderland's academy coach, will also support Advocaat and his backroom team for the final nine games of the sea- son. Dick Advocaat is the head coach until the end of the season