Reds and Blues to unite in memory of Hillsborough victims

Fans of both Liverpool and Everton will gather at the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield on Saturday 23 August, at 12.15pm, for a short service to remember the 96 football supporters who lost their lives in the 1989 tragedy.

The service will be conducted by the Everton club chaplain, Rev. Harry Ross, vicar of St Luke's Church, Goodison Road.

It follows tit-for-tat acts of vandalism last season when there was paint thrown on the Hillsborough memorial following two incidents of paint being thrown on Everton's Dixie Dean statue outside Goodison Park.

It is hoped that the service will help to bring an end to the vandalism which has tarnished the name of Merseyside football.

Supporters from each club will lay flowers on the memorial as they join together to pay tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who tragically lost their lives on April 15 1989.

"Memorials are for remembering people," said a spokesman for the Evertonians. "Respect should be shown to those who are no longer with us, and consideration shown to their families.

"If people stoop to vandalising memorials, they are not only letting themselves down, but also letting down their club because it reflects badly on them."

Phil Hammond, of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, said: "I shall be attending this service. We don't want to see any further vandalism at Goodison or Anfield. Dixie Dean and the 96 people deserve better."

Former Everton captain Dave Watson, who started his career with Liverpool, has also said he will be attending.

Mr Ross, who will be conducting the 10-minute service, said: "It's time for football fans to show generosity of spirit, rather than meanness of spirit."

The Evertonians showing their respects on Saturday are passionate Blues, and some would love to see Liverpool relegated. However, they feel just as strongly that the Hillsborough memorial should be treated with the utmost respect, as should any other memorial.

The Evertonian spokesman added: "Football arguments between Evertonians and Liverpudlians are part and parcel of Merseyside life and will continue; but throwing paint on memorials only brings shame on the club that the culprits purport to support. It must stop.

"Remember that football is the beautiful game. And when disasters relating to the game happen, such as Burnden Park, Munich, Ibrox, Bradford, Heysel and Hillsborough, football fans should forget their traditional rivalries and show respect for those who lost their lives and their families."

Perhaps some younger supporters don't realise how the followers of the two clubs rallied together in 1989 after FA Cup semi-final day when the Blues went to Villa Park and the Reds to Hillsborough.

When the Evertonians came out of Villa Park after winning their semi-final 1-0, they began to hear that something bad had happened at Hillsborough.

One Evertonian said: "At first, we heard that five people had died, then someone said 12. Surely that many people could not have died going to the match, we thought. But then the figure rose into the 30s.

"Evertonians, as they travelled back to Merseyside, began to worry about their Kopite mates. There were no mobile phones or text messaging then.

"And as they got back home, they heard that the figure was 50-odd, 60-something. The number lost continued to rise, to 96. Ninety-six; young, old and middle-aged; male and female; tall and small; but all dearly loved by their friends and families.

"It was a devastating time but Evertonians stood by Liverpool fans in the weeks after, sharing the grief. After all, they have always gone to school together, worked together and socialised together. They still do."

"The bottom line is that throwing paint on memorials only brings shame on the club that the culprits purport to support. It must stop."