Thatcher Football Silence Idea 'A Disgrace'

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

Calls for a minute's silence at football matches to mark the death of Margaret Thatcher have been dismissed as "a disgrace" by the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

Two Premier League chairmen, Reading's John Madejski and Wigan's Dave Whelan, have called for the former prime minister's death to be commemorated this weekend.

Mr Madejski said while he does not think the silence will happen he had "enormous respect for Lady Thatcher, strutting around on the world stage as she did, she put this country on the map".

"Had we been any other country we probably would have had two weeks of mourning but that's the way we are in this country ... everybody's got a view," he said at the Soccerex conference.

Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan also wanted a minute's silence

"I think if you've got a balance sheet to weigh up the good and bad Margaret Thatcher created, the good would outweigh the bad 10 times over."

But Margaret Aspinall, chair of the group that campaigned for more than 20 years for justice for the 96 Liverpool fans who died in 1989, said it would be wholly inappropriate.

Monday sees the 24th anniversary of the disaster, and the first since an independent inquiry revealed the extent of a cover-up by South Yorkshire police that sought to blame Liverpool fans for the deaths.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel report, published last autumn, also revealed Lady Thatcher's reluctance to endorse criticism of the police despite the government being aware of "damning" evidence of their role.

Adding to sensitivities around the issue, Liverpool play at Madjeski's Reading on Saturday, where a minute's silence for the victims of Hillsborough is already planned.

Mrs Aspinall, whose teenage son James died in the tragedy, told Sky News a silence at any fixtures would be "an insult".

Margaret Aspinall (R) lost her son in the Hillsborough disaster

"I think if they have a minute's silence for her at any football ground it would be an insult to all fans. We all know that Margaret Thatcher was no friend of football, everyone knew her feelings," she said.

"I do not want to speak ill of the dead because we have to consider the feelings of her family, but she was part and parcel of what we [the bereaved families] have gone through.

"I think it is a disgrace that they would want to have a minute's silence for her, an absolute disgrace."

Despite Mr Madjeski and Mr Whelan's comments, the Premier League and the FA have said there will not be silences either at league fixtures or the two FA Cup semi-finals staged at Wembley.

Margaret Thatcher's death has been recognised across the world

An FA spokesman said there was "no precedent" for silences following the death of prime ministers and that it wanted the games to remain apolitical.

The FA and Premier League position has been endorsed by the Football Supporters' Federation.

Chairman Malcolm Clarke said: "We believe the football authorities have made the right decision in not holding minute's silences this weekend.

"I think that most fans will be more concerned with marking the Hillsborough anniversary than the passing of Margaret Thatcher."

Privately, the football authorities also doubt that any silence would be respected given the antipathy that existed between the Thatcher government and football during the 1980s.

She was in power when hooliganism was at its height but her attempts to curb it, most notably the football ID cards scheme, were deeply unpopular and eventually rejected.

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