A Newcastle United fan has described his experience at Hillsborough as “uncomfortable and unnecessary”.
Sky Sports News spoke to supporters who have raised issues relating to the lower tier of the Leppings Lane End stand and the FA will speak to officials at Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle as well as South Yorkshire Police following the reports.
Some fans have suggested overcrowding happened when supporters came through a tunnel to the central pen.
Images taken at the game posted on social media show spare seats in areas of the lower terrace, either side of the central area of the stand.
Fans also voiced their concern at what they said was a lack of stewards on duty.
‘It was uncomfortable and unpleasant’
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Newcastle supporter Malcolm Bamford, who took his family to the game at Hillsborough, described the experience as “unpleasant”, suggesting his son was shaken by the situation.
Bamford said: “I was there with my 12-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. Everything had been fine during the day. We got to the ground okay.
“The problem was in two parts. Firstly, inside the ground the concourse is only about 10 yards wide. At either end of the concourse it was fine, but the middle third of it is where the bar and the food was being sold.
“I asked one of the stewards which end do we need to go because it is an unfamiliar ground, and he said just go anywhere. We went in the left-hand turnstile, up the stairs and you look at the signage, and it turns out we needed to be right at the other end.
Bamford added: “So effectively, we’ve gone in behind the left-hand corner flag and we are sitting behind the right-hand corner flag. Then we have to get from A to B, and that is where the issue was. This was around 40 minutes before kick-off so we did have plenty of time, but that middle part of the concourse was just rammed out.
“There were 1,000 people trying to get from A to B because they’d gone in through the wrong access and there were 1,000 people trying to get from B to A in a four-yard-wide space. It was just really uncomfortable and unpleasant.
“My daughter was okay, but my son was clearly a little bit shaken. Once we got out to the seating area, eventually, he came back round and relaxed a little.”
‘The Hillsborough disaster was on people’s minds’
Bamford went on to say there was concern before the game with the Hillsborough disaster on people’s minds.
He said: “I heard people going past me at the bottle neck referencing the Hillsborough disaster. That’s what was on peoples’ minds. When you hear those voices shouting and referencing the disaster then you know there is a problem there.
“It’s the first time I have been to Hillsborough and it’s a poignant thing walking through that tunnel.
“Trying to explain to the kids what happened there all those years ago. It’s a big, historical football event that we all remember. But for people to be referencing that while you are swaying about, off your feet in a crowd, shows what people were thinking when they were in that situation.
“It was uncomfortable and unnecessary.”
‘It felt like sardines in a tin’
Jonathan Weild was also in the away end at Hillsborough and told Sky Sports News that it felt like the Newcastle supporters were crammed in with no-one knowing where to go.
Weild said: “I arrived at about 4.50pm (for a 6pm kick-off) and it wasn’t too bad when I arrived.
“There were just a few people getting in and a few people dotted about. Then, as the time went on, more and more people were trying to get down this one main tunnel and I think the stewards got a bit overwhelmed with how many people were trying to come through the one tunnel at the same time.
“That caused a major issue because everyone was on the stairs, and nobody knew where to go. Nobody knew whether to go left or right or anywhere because they have just seen that one main tunnel. It felt like there weren’t enough people directing people where to go. It felt like everyone was left to their own devices.
“It made us feel very uncomfortable. Everyone was just trying to cram past, and it felt like sardines in a tin. Everyone was standing shoulder-to-shoulder and couldn’t move anywhere.
“I didn’t move for the whole game, even at half-time. I couldn’t move because people were blocking the stairs and the tunnel. I thought I’d stay where I was because I might be a bit safer.”
‘It felt like the stand wasn’t big enough’
He added: “Obviously, Newcastle are well supported and we pretty much sell out every away end, but it just felt very disorganised. It felt like the staff there didn’t know what to do when everyone came in at the same time.
“It didn’t feel like the stand was big enough, like entrance ways weren’t big enough for the amount of people coming through the turnstiles.
“How many away fans have felt the same things we felt? I’m not sure how many fans a League One side will take, but being a Premier League team as well-supported as Newcastle are, it shouldn’t be happening at any ground.
“You shouldn’t be made to feel uncomfortable. It’s shocking.”
A crush at the same Leppings Lane End at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest saw 97 Liverpool supporters lose their lives in the Hillsborough disaster.
Sky Sports News has contacted Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United, South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield City Council for comment.
No official statement has been released from Newcastle at this time, however, they say they are working with the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) to offer fans support and comfort.
The NUST are meanwhile collecting reports form supporters in attendance at Hillsborough and will make all reports available to any investigation into the conditions around the fixture.
