🚨 NEW: Liverpool FC manager Arne Slot has criticised the Government after failing to pass The Hillsborough Law
“Bereaved families should not have to fight and campaign for the truth about how their loved ones lost their lives”
Absolutely disgraceful from the South Yorkshire Police Federation & keeping with tradition sadly & shamefully.
They dare to whine about “trial by media” when it was their own secretary in 1989 who spread the lies that weaponised the media against Liverpool fans and was fundamental to the cover up.
And now they have the nerve to demand fairness and balance?
Whoever signed this off should consider their position.
Today could - and should - have been a watershed moment for the 97 and their families.
A moment when, finally, some of those responsible were confronted with the truth they've spent decades avoiding.
Instead, it feels like another missed opportunity. After a 13-year investigation, the IOPC's report is too little, too late.
It tells us nothing the Hillsborough families haven't carried with them for years: that their loved ones were catastrophically failed - and then vilified in a disgraceful cover-up.
The truth remains: 97 innocent people - British citizens - were unlawfully killed. Yet no individual or institution has ever been held accountable through our justice system.
There's been no collective responsibility for the catastrophic failures that led to the disaster.
No reckoning for the officers who shirked their duties and led a campaign to blame Liverpool supporters. And no closure for the families who've fought with dignity, strength and courage. Justice remains agonisingly out of reach.
The legacy of the 97 must now be justice in law. The Hillsborough Law - currently progressing through Parliament - would help ensure that no other bereaved families are ever forced to endure such a prolonged, unconscionable ordeal.
Last night at Anfield will stay with me forever - not because of one person's words, but because of how the entire football family stood together.
To my @afcbournemouth teammates who supported me in that moment, to the @LiverpoolFC players and fans who showed their true character, to the @premierleague officials who handled it professionally - thank you. Football showed its best side when it mattered most.
Scoring those two goals felt like speaking the only language that truly matters on the pitch. This is why I play - for moments like these, for my teammates, for everyone who believes in what this beautiful game can be.
The overwhelming messages of support from across the football world remind me why I love this sport. We keep moving forward, together. 🙏🏾⚽
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#FootballFamily #OnwardTogether #AFCB
🚨🇳🇱 Arne Slot on the death of Diogo Jota: "What to say? What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw? I wish I had the words but I know I do not.
All I have are feelings that I know so many people will share about a person and a player we loved dearly and a family we care so much about.
My first thoughts are not those of a football manager. They are of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle and they belong to the family of Diogo and Andre Silva who have experienced such an unimaginable loss.
My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone. The players, the staff, the supporters of Liverpool Football Club are all with you and from what I have seen today, the same can be said of the wider family of football.
This is not solely a response to tragedy. It is also a reaction to the goodness of the people involved and the respect that so many have for the boys as individuals and for the family as a whole.
For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special.
I could say so much about what he brought to our team but the truth is everyone who watched Diogo play could see it. Hard work, desire, commitment, great quality, goals. The essence of what a Liverpool player should be.
There were also the parts that not everyone got to see. The person who never sought popularity but found it anyway. Not a friend to two people, a friend to everyone. Someone who made others feel good about themselves just by being with them. A person who cared deeply for his family.
The last time we spoke, I congratulated Diogo on winning the Nations League and wished him luck for his forthcoming wedding. In many ways, it was a dream summer for Diogo and his family, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that it should end like this.
When I first came to the club, one of the first songs I got to know was the one that our fans sing for Diogo. I had not worked with him previously but I knew straight away that if the Liverpool supporters, who have seen so many great players over the years, had such a unique chant for Diogo, he must have special qualities.
That we have lost those qualities in such terrible circumstances is something we have not yet come to terms with. For this reason, we need everyone at the club to stand together and to be there for one another. We owe this to Diogo, to Andre Silva, to their wider family and to ourselves.
My condolences go to Diogo’s wife, Rute, their three beautiful children and to the parents of Diogo and Andre Silva.
When the time is right, we will celebrate Diogo Jota, we will remember his goals and we will sing his song. For the time being, we will remember him as a unique human being and mourn his loss. He will never be forgotten.
His name is Diogo."