Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/671725
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 APRIL 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Hillsborough jury finds 96 Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed The 96 Liverpool football fans who died in Britain's worst-ever sporting disaster, the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium crush, were unlawfully killed, with police failures to blame, a jury hearing inquests into the deaths concluded on Tuesday THE victims, many young, died in an overcrowded, fenced-in enclosure at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, northern England, at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on a warm, sunny afternoon in April 27 years ago. Harrowing images of young fans crushed against metal fenc- es, bodies lying on the pitch and spectators using wooden adver- tising hoardings as makeshift stretchers horrified the nation. The Hillsborough tragedy, which happened within minutes of kick-off, changed the face of English football. Banks of ter- racing and metal fences around pitches disappeared, replaced by modern, all-seated venues and better security. It also led to a cover-up by po- lice who initially accused aggres- sive, drunken, ticketless Liver- pool fans of being responsible by forcing their way into the sta- dium. New inquests were ordered in December 2012 when London's High Court quashed accidental death verdicts from 21 years ear- lier after an independent inquiry found new evidence and absolved the fans of any responsibility. The jury overseeing the new inquests ruled that the fans had been unlawfully killed and that police commanders had made mistakes in the build-up to the match and on the day itself, the BBC reported. They also absolved Liverpool fans of any role in causing the crush. The Crown Prosecution Service said it was considering wheth- er criminal charges should be brought against individuals or any corporate body. Relatives sing 'You'll never walk alone' after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, in Warrington, Britain Leicester's Ranieri still waiting for title maths to add up LEICESTER City manager Claudio Ranieri has said he will start to cel- ebrate "only when the mathemat- ics are certain" as the club close in on the first top-tier title in their 132-year history. Victory at Manchester United on Sunday will be sufficient for the Foxes after Tottenham Hotspur un- expectedly dropped two points in Monday night's 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion. With Leicester seven points clear of their only remaining title ri- vals with three games left, Ranieri knows he is in touching distance of his first major league title in a 30-year career that has embraced 16 jobs. The Italian conceded that Spurs' surprise result had taken a load from his shoulders. "I was a lit- tle more light. A little," he said on Tuesday at a Premier League spon- sor's event. "Of course... we are so very close. Everybody says it's done. In my opinion, no. I believe only in the mathematics," he said. Ranieri, who had never anticipat- ed a title triumph when he returned to England last summer, added that he did not mind where Leicester secured their prize, provided they did so. "It is important to try to win every match. Every match. I don't know when, but it is important to get this goal (the title)," he said. "I said to them (the players), 'We have to play as an eleven... It's not important the name of your oppo- nent, it is important what you do during the match and (to) help each other.'" Ranieri also praised Riyad Mah- rez, who was named PFA Player of the Year on Sunday. "I am very proud because Riyad is a very hum- ble man. He asks every time, 'What can I do to improve?' That is fantas- tic. He is a genius, our light," he said. "But I want to say also (that) all the players are having a fantastic season, with very great profession- alism." If Leicester fail to win at Old Traf- ford, they will have a chance to se- cure the title at home to Everton before their final game at Chelsea, who sacked Ranieri as manager in 2004. Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri celebrates