York journo sick of 'justice for 96'

[richt71]

This article is written by Mike Bentley for York evening Press as 'an irrevent look at life'

 

Liverpool - Why do we need it?

 

I'm sick to the back teeth of their self-righteous football fans demanding 'juctice for the 96' when any sane person would ask 'what about justice for the 39?', namely the dead italians of the heysel stadium disaster (and what is this 'justice' they demand anyway? Kelvin MacKenzie's head on a stake?)

The Poverty, the slave trade, here we go again...bloody hillsborough, the racist murder of Anthony Walker and the appalling saga of Jamie Bulger case.

 

*********

 

It's a long article slating Liverpool but I've typed the c*** re: hilsborough. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear your views on their website http://www.yorkpress.co.uk

[richt71]

This article is written by Mike Bentley for York evening Press as 'an irrevent look at life'

 

Liverpool - Why do we need it?

 

I'm sick to the back teeth of their self-righteous football fans demanding 'juctice for the 96' when any sane person would ask 'what about justice for the 39?', namely the dead italians of the heysel stadium disaster (and what is this 'justice' they demand anyway? Kelvin MacKenzie's head on a stake?)

The Poverty, the slave trade, here we go again...bloody hillsborough, the racist murder of Anthony Walker and the appalling saga of Jamie Bulger case.

 

*********

 

It's a long article slating Liverpool but I've typed the c*** re: hilsborough. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear your views on their website http://www.yorkpress.co.uk

 

Article now online @ http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/display.var.118..._we_need_it.php

[theredfella]

Just emailed them myself.

 

F*cking c*nt

[berdoing]

The 39 did get justice. Maybe he'd forgotten about that. As had the Everton fans.

[Armin_Tamzarian]

He strikes me as a Littlejohn wannabe. Picking on an easy target (there won't be many scousers in his papers target market) and playing on ignorance and prejudice to score some cheap points.

 

It's pretty low journalism and best ignored.

 

However perhaps he should be taken at his word, when he asks:

 

And what is this "justice" they demand anyway?

 

A polite letter to the editor should offer Mike the chance to come up to Liverpool and meet some of the people from the HJC so they can explain what the campaign is all about.

 

He'll run a mile obviously because to write the resulting article would require him to conduct an interview, do some research and get off his a***. Far easier to get stuck into asylum seekers or whoever else is next up for a scapegoating.

[Ostrich Man]

The 39 did get justice.

 

without appearing to be trying to "start" something....what justice did they get?

[matty]

what a cretin.

 

Although he's got a point about where Mackenzie's head should end up.

[Col N]

without appearing to be trying to "start" something....what justice did they get?

 

I think there were something like 26 different convictions.

All served various jail terms.

[Ronnie Whelan]

A shocking article. Im sure the journo knew he would annoy people with this so its all a self promotion exercise. Nevertheless he should research his articles before putting them to press and should be held to task about this piece.

[Ostrich Man]

I think there were something like 26 different convictions.

All served various jail terms.

 

There were 27 arrests on suspicion of manslaughter ? the only extraditable offence applicable to events at Heysel. Approximately 60 per cent were from Liverpool and the remainder from places that ranged from Aberdeen to Ipswich. Some of these people had previous convictions for football related violence. In 1989, after a 5-month trial in Belgium, fourteen Liverpool fans were given 3-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter.[12] Half the terms were suspended[13] and it is unclear how many served their sentences.

 

according to fydsipedia(so dont know how true it is)

 

 

now if it were me who had lost a relative at Heysel, im not too sure id see that as justice.

 

not that it negates the Justice for 96 campaign anyway.

 

was just curious.

[smithdown]

Resignations, sackings and reassignments within Belgian government and police force as well as jail terms for some supporters contrasts rather starkly with the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

[Ostrich Man]

oh aye, would never deny that smithdown, just saying if it was one of my relatives i dont think id see 7 people going to jail for a maximum of 3 years(probably out after a year) as justice no matter who got sacked/resigned etc.

 

just as if it was a relative of mine at hillsborough, where no justice has been given at all.

 

berdoing said "justice" had been given for the 39, from what i see on here and what ive just read i wouldnt call that justice.

[SkippyjonJones]

Belgium received a 10 year ban from hosting finals.

Juve got a ban / or played behind closed doors

Not sure about the police.

Various Fans were convicted / sentenced but its unclear how much time was actually spent behind bars.

 

Uefa got - -nothing for their part in that disiaster.

 

There wasn?t a full inquiry or anything like the Taylor report as it would have exposed too many failings in the footballing authorities. Thatcher was more than happy for the clubs to take the rap and be banned and it was the easy way out for UEFA. So they took it.

 

Can you imagine a full inquiry and it being televised about the state of the stadium, the lack of interest from UEFA and their refusal to do anything when the Liverpool chairman asked then not to play it there. Imagine UEFA trying to explain why they sold tickets in the neutral section to locals when it was pretty obvious that they were going straight on the black market.

 

Anyway ? as for that fool of a journalist ? why does he look a little closer to home and explain why the South Yorkshire police failed to do a full operational report to implement for that day. Why the SYP changed things from the year before. Why they decided that natural leveling of the pens was the way forward when it wasn?t set up to do that. Why they let anyone get to the stadium without going through a police corden ? unlike the previous year. Why there was nobody assigned to directing the fans to the sides of leppings Lane once they got in through the turnstiles. Why the Police beat people back into the pens as they were trying to climb out. Why they were unable to open the gates to the pitch. Why they wouldn?t let firemen with cutting equipment into the stadium. Why they wouldn?t let ambulances into the stadium. Why the police changed their notes and ripped pages from their notebooks. Why Hillsborough didn?t have an up to date safety certificate. Why was Kelly and then the press told that the fans had charged the gate instead of saying that the police ordered it to be opened? If he can get anwers to some of those questions then he might just start to understand why Liverpool fans won?t let the subject of Hillsborough drop.

[berdoing]

oh aye, would never deny that smithdown, just saying if it was one of my relatives i dont think id see 7 people going to jail for a maximum of 3 years(probably out after a year) as justice no matter who got sacked/resigned etc.

 

just as if it was a relative of mine at hillsborough, where no justice has been given at all.

 

berdoing said "justice" had been given for the 39, from what i see on here and what ive just read i wouldnt call that justice.

 

 

You open up a can of worms as to what the individual regards as being justice or not. For example, the man who runs down a girl accidentally in the street and gets four years in jail for dangerous driving, that might be seen as probably justice to me and you but not to the girl's family as you can't replace a life for a life.

 

The victims of Heysel at least got some sense of justice as something was seen to be done to punish the miscreants (punishments already stated) and nobody is left in any doubt as to who was to blame for what happened.

 

At Hillsborough, though, the relevant people haven't been held responsible, leading to an inevitable consequence over time of ill-informed people jumping to the wrong conclusions as to whose fault it was. Hence the justice for the 96 campaign - if things had been handled properly at the time there wouldn't be all this still going on.

 

The people I feel sorry for most of all are the families who lost people in the disaster and who don't court the publicity and just want it all to go away so they can get on with their lives. Each year someone else regurgitates Mackenzie's nonsense, it's another reminder that they didn't want of something that didn't happen in the manner more and more people wrongly think it did.

Edited February 13, 2007 by berdoing

[liverbird04]

oops just posted this in the general forum ,didn't see it was here .

[kop205]

A quick browse of their site shows that, given by the number of other articles people have complained about, he is clearly just an insecure, braying t*** who longs to be 'controversial' and in actual fact is nothing more than a prejudiced, ignorant c***.

 

f***'s sake, further down that article he refers to the Big Brother race row and not only has a pop at Liverpool there too but even pretends not to know Shilpa's name ('...or Shipla or Sheila or whatever her name is.') Is that meant to be funny? Or ironic? What a c**k.

 

Amused me as well how he has a dig at the slave trade when York, if I remember correctly, was established off the back of a bit of Viking rape and pillage was it not?

[richt71]

A quick browse of their site shows that, given by the number of other articles people have complained about, he is clearly just an insecure, braying t*** who longs to be 'controversial' and in actual fact is nothing more than a prejudiced, ignorant c***.

 

f***'s sake, further down that article he refers to the Big Brother race row and not only has a pop at Liverpool there too but even pretends not to know Shilpa's name ('...or Shipla or Sheila or whatever her name is.') Is that meant to be funny? Or ironic? What a c**k.

 

Amused me as well how he has a dig at the slave trade when York, if I remember correctly, was established off the back of a bit of Viking rape and pillage was it not?

 

And here's the outcry (appart from one) from readers:-

 

A city replies

By Reader's letter

 

IT is always a delight to visit York, but I also greatly enjoy going to Liverpool. The architecture there is superb and extremely impressive.

 

I have a great affection for both cities; indeed I am a member of York Civic Trust. Mike Bentley's article on Liverpool (Liverpool - why do we need it? The Press, February 9) was nasty and it saddened me to read it.

 

Of course Liverpool has its problems and faults; what big city doesn't? Even York has its fair share.

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Liverpool people have a reputation for over-sentimentality. Perhaps this view has some truth in it, but I can think of worse regional characteristics. These are all silly stereotypes anyway.

 

I wonder whether Mr Bentley has ever been to Liverpool? I am sure he would be made very welcome.

 

While there he could see and do many splendid things, and perhaps change his ridiculous misconceptions of the city and its inhabitants.

 

A Bond, Fulwood, Preston.

 

# IN reply to the Mike Bentley article, or should I say rant, about Liverpool and Liverpool people, I was born in Liverpool but have lived in York for ten years.

 

Mike Bentley has never met me, but I can tell him that I do not go in for "forced jocularity" nor am I a "braying celebrity".

 

Leafy Surrey probably does contain some rich Liverpool people, but Judi Dench does not live in York all year round.

 

Rich people do gravitate to Surrey and other wealthy areas.

 

If Bentley wants to know about Hillsborough I am quite prepared to speak to him about it. I was at the game and believe that the inquest verdict was a travesty of justice.

 

As for Heysel, both Liverpool and Juventus have made strong efforts at reconciliation, as noted when the two clubs played each other last year.

 

I do not suffer from whining grief addiction over Hillsborough, but the dead deserve to be remembered in the same way that the people of Manchester remember the Munich air disaster - is that whining grief addiction?

 

Like all cities, there are good and bad things about Liverpool. Murders are not unique to Liverpool and neither is the slave trade - ask London and Bristol.

 

The article was insulting and I am amazed that my local paper of which I am a loyal reader chose to print such rubbish.

 

Peter Ashton, Kingsway West, York.

 

# HAVING read Mike Bentley's column regarding Liverpool, I would like to express my disgust at such a stereotypical piece of journalism.

 

For the last 30 years I have read this view in the media - and for the last 30 years this view has rubbed off onto similar narrow-minded, prejudiced people.

 

There are still, unfortunately, people like Mr Bentley around who judge others by their city of origin and take pleasure in scoring cheap points in classing every person the same.

 

Mr Bentley should have time for Liverpool, as it gives him an easy target to aim at, as I am sure that his bigoted views would not be tolerated if aimed at race or religion.

 

Obviously Mr Bentley, being an "irreverent" journalist, is not interested in writing a column of any substance, just in raking over old stereotypes.

 

Tim Gillbanks, Priory Wood Way, Huntington, York.

 

# MIKE Bentley may or may not like the city of Liverpool, but your decision to publish his comments relating to the Hillsborough disaster was in very poor taste indeed.

 

Any attempt to draw a parallel between the terrible events at Heysel stadium and Hillsborough is simply inaccurate, misleading and highly offensive.

 

Justice was served following Heysel, and those deemed responsible by the courts were imprisoned as "any sane person" who bothered to research their facts would know.

 

The "Justice For The 96" campaign is not directly related to Kelvin MacKenzie either, though his actions have caused much misunderstanding about the Hillsborough disaster.

 

The campaign is much more concerned with establishing the truth behind the events on that day, something that has been denied to the families of the 96.

 

Anne Williams, for example, the mother of Kevin Williams who died at Hillsborough aged 15, is taking her case to the European Courts, because she believes there is proof that he was still alive at 4pm, whereas the official coroner refused to hear any evidence relating to events after 3.15pm.

 

There are many other examples which demonstrate why 18 years later those affected are still having to campaign for justice, and I would urge Mike Bentley to familiarise himself with the facts before passing comment. Visiting http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough/ would be a good place to start.

 

Peter Bee, Newborough Street, York.

 

# I FEEL honour-bound to counter Mike Bentley's most recent diatribe.

 

Now, I know columnists are supposed to be controversial and stir up emotions, but Mr Bentley, who hides behind anonymity, snapped the integrity of such endeavours with his scandalous reaction to the Hillsborough disaster.

 

His having a go at my native Liverpool is up to him. You can't please everybody and Scouse power is not admired by all - fair enough.

 

For him to decry the death of 96 football fans as "bloody Hillsborough" is scandalous. As a Liverpool fan, I cannot believe that someone can have such disregard for a tragedy in which 96 people - men, women and children - who simply went to a football match, did not return home that same day.

 

No one, as yet, has been punished for the tragedy, save for those who died and their relatives.

 

I suggest the author read Lord Justice Taylor's report and discover where the blame lies, though no one has been brought to book.

 

Mr Bentley refers to the equally disgraceful Heysel disaster in which Liverpool fans were blameworthy. He wonders where the "justice" was for the 39 Italian fans, who were sadly killed.

 

Offenders served jail sentences and Liverpool were banned from competing in Europe, as were non-guilty English clubs whom Lady Thatcher decided in her inestimable wisdom to take a sledgehammer to, just to prove another of her crass class-war points.

 

Mr Bentley is feted as proposing "An irreverent look at life..." - more like a rabidly outrageous and blinkered viewpoint.

 

Tony Kelly, Wigginton, York.

 

# MIKE Bentley's outspoken contributions are basically tongue-in-cheek, but even if his views on Liverpool (February 9) were completely serious I'd still agree with him.

 

So many in the Midlands and South seem to think that Merseysiders represent the entire north of England.

 

Scousers are only one part of the north, and I get fed up of them being elevated to a level of importance they are simply not worthy of.

 

Mike Bentley is right regarding the Liverpudlian image of being witty, loveable scoundrels who are often the victims of injustice, particularly the reference to the Heysel Stadium disaster, which has so often been conveniently overlooked because of Hillsborough.

 

Colin S Jeffrey, East Mount Road, York.

 

# MIKE Bentley's recent column contains what I believe to be several comments, which are nothing short of offence for the apparent sake of it.

 

Heysel victims did in fact receive due justice (rightly so), but victims and families of Hillsborough have yet to, in spite of Lord Justice Taylor's findings.

 

Mr Bentley also dismisses out-of-hand 800 years of history and culture in Liverpool.

 

I acknowledge that he has the right to his views - just as long as the media collectively continues to enable such views to be fairly challenged as a balance and any inaccuracies corrected.

 

Jim Sharman, Expat, Sweden.

 

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/search/display....ity_replies.php

 

 

A quick browse of their site shows that, given by the number of other articles people have complained about, he is clearly just an insecure, braying t*** who longs to be 'controversial' and in actual fact is nothing more than a prejudiced, ignorant c***.

 

f***'s sake, further down that article he refers to the Big Brother race row and not only has a pop at Liverpool there too but even pretends not to know Shilpa's name ('...or Shipla or Sheila or whatever her name is.') Is that meant to be funny? Or ironic? What a c**k.

 

Amused me as well how he has a dig at the slave trade when York, if I remember correctly, was established off the back of a bit of Viking rape and pillage was it not?

 

Agree amte even though I've got the paper for over 10 years not noticed this tool till now but did notice a lot of complaints about his articles when I searched the press website.

 

Yes York was viking stronghold than a Roman one with prison where people where tortured!

[kop205]

Interesting to see the feedback. Cheers for that mate.

 

Bentley is clearly nothing other than a sad man trying desperately to be funny/controversial.