Steven Gerrard in £96,000 Hillsborough group donation
Nice one Stevie.
Steven Gerrard has donated £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group ahead of Tuesday's Merseyside derby.
The group, along with the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, has been leading the fight to discover what happened at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final which led to 96 Liverpool fans losing their lives.
The Liverpool captain's cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley, 10, died at Hillsborough.
Gerrard said it was something he had "wanted to do for a while" but "wanted to get the timing right".
"It's to send a message of togetherness out as well," he added.
"I know there's a bit of banter in the stands when the game's going on but, for me, the Everton fans have been superb since Hillsborough."
'A special city'
He added: "I think it's good timing to send this out now, just before the Merseyside derby, but also there's a huge thank you from not just myself, but from all the Liverpudlians and all the help and support the Everton fans have given us with this.
"When there is a tragedy in this city, you do get touching moments. It does unite and it does make you feel like you are part of such a special city."
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of a crush at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground during Liverpool's game against Nottingham Forest.
Gerrard was a few weeks short of his ninth birthday when the tragedy occurred.
Fresh inquests into the deaths will begin in Warrington in March after the original accidental death verdicts were quashed in 2012 following an independent report.
The Hillsborough Family Support Group was founded in May 1989 and represents 74 of the families affected by the tragedy.
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I do find the whole Everton inclusion in the topic a bit strange in recent years though.
Fantastic gesture by Stevie.
Good on Gerrard though.
As far as fans at games are concerned, people generally know where the line is when it comes to issues bigger than the game. Of course there are dickheads at every club, but when you see memorial silences or applauses for recently passed players or even members of the public, supporters are usually fairly respectful, with only a few exceptions over the years.
As for the unique situation re: Hillsborough, the thing about that is that there were so many people from all over the city, whether Liverpool, Everton, Tranmere (or any other team) fans who lost a family member, friend or even just a passing acquaintance, so the shock and grief affected the whole community in a way that we've never seen before in one city - and one of the reasons it touched so many of the rest of us was because of the very way it united local rivals.
However, in my humble opinion, this had nothing to do with it being in Liverpool, it was just the awful tragic circumstances of what happened that day.
Take nothing away from the people of that city because they are normal people who are no different from people from anywhere else, but if it had happened in exactly the same way to a club from Manchester, North London, Birmingham or any other place with a significant rivalry, I'm certain we would have seen that community bond in a similar way.
Edited - and before we hail him as a remarkably nice guy can we remember that he earns £140,000 per week.
I'm not saying it's not a positive gesture but it isn't like you or I giving away that kind of cash and it doesn't wipe out past deeds which have portrayed him as very much not a 'nice bloke'.
Anymore than Everton fans supporting the cause makes fans of other teams 'scummy'.
A symbolic amount.
A top world class footballer gives more to a charity/good cause than I will ever earn in a good few years. Rather than snipe, how about we say 'well done', just for once. Fuck me, we really are a cynical society sometimes.
ffs i don't know whats up with some people. its £96k more than they had at the start of the day.
SG earns around £150k a week gross, so £7.8m per year and has being doing so for years. He will have millions & millions in the bank. £96k represents a bit more than 1% of gross but he will get tax relief on this when he does his SA return.
So its like giving £500 when you are on £50k a year, but better as you have £££ in the bank !
Yes its generous for a footballer but not particularly in terms of his huge wage + endorsements.
Well done Steve.
Margaret Aspinall, chair of the HFSG, whose 18-year old-son James was one of the 96 people killed at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground in April 1989, said: "This is a great gesture, and very welcome indeed. Steven Gerrard has been very supportive of the families all these years and we are grateful. I always stress: nobody has to give us anything, and the support we have had, from well known people such as him, and from ordinary people, has been fantastic. We would not be where we are today without it."
Gerrard's cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley, who was 10 at the time, was the youngest of those who died in the crush on the Leppings Lane terrace at Hillsborough. Gerrard himself was eight at the time. The HFSG, of which the Gilhooley family are members, and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, have fought relentlessly against the legal processes after the disaster which saw nobody prosecuted or held legally accountable and an inquest verdict of accidental death.
The verdict was finally quashed in December 2012, and a new inquest is due to start in Warrington on 31 March. A new criminal investigation is ongoing into how the disaster was caused, and an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into possible police misconduct including perjury and perverting the course of justice afterwards.
The families' legal costs and expenses are being paid by the Home Office this time; Aspinall said Gerrard's and other donations help pay office and travel costs, and a legal fund should it be needed.
Gerrard said given "my own family's connection to Hillsborough", he had wanted to make a donation for a while, and chose the eve of the derby to recognise the solidarity shown to the Hillsborough cause by Everton supporters:
"I think the timing is right to send another message out about how we want justice," Gerrard said. "I and every other Liverpool fan can only thank Evertonians for their support."
Aspinall too said the families were grateful for the backing of Everton who staged a landmark demonstration of togetherness at the Goodison Park derby in September 2012 following the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report.
"The solidarity of both Liverpool football clubs, and Merseyside people, has been tremendous," she said.