The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 remains today the darkest hour for Liverpool football club after a stadium crush during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest resulted in the deaths of 96 innocent supporters. A succession of controversies have been created in the wake of the tragedy, from an inquest into police corruption through to a scandalous reference on British soap opera EastEnders. But perhaps the biggest controversy to arise from the disaster is claims made by The Sun newspaper in the immediate aftermath of the crush, with the tabloid reporting at the time that some fans pickpocketed the dead and urinated on police. Despite a full-page apology from the newspaper in 2004, Liverpool fans to this day refuse to buy The Sun, and have boycotted the paper for the last 25 years. Peter Hooton, a campaign spokesman for 'Don't Buy The Sun', said in 2012: "The boycott of The Sun is symbolic, and after 23 years it is still as strong as ever on Merseyside.
"People don't feel that there has been any genuine apology. There won't be closure on this until there is justice for the 96. Most Liverpool fans will never forgive the paper and will never buy it."
What do you think are the biggest controversies and scandals to rock Liverpool football club? Let us know in the comment section, below.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
