The only silence should be for Hillsborough, claims Liverpool boss Rodgers as row over Baroness Thatcher tribute rumbles on



Brendan Rodgers believes the only silence that can be observed this weekend before Liverpool's game at Reading can be to honour the memory of the 96 Hillsborough victims.

Reading chairman John Madjeski and his Wigan counterpart Dave Whelan had suggested that sport should find a way of remembering former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died on Monday.

Madjeski subsequently acknowledged that there was no chance of silence for Baroness Thatcher being respected, given the level of enmity towards her from the city of Liverpool and the Hillsborough Family Support Group said it would be 'a mistake' to try hold it this weekend.

No go: Brendan Rodgers believes the only minute's silence should be for the victims of Hillsborough

Anger: Liverpool supporters hit out at Thatcher - she was misinformed by a senior police officer that 'drunken Liverpool fans' were to blame for Hillsborough

Rugby to pay respects

Saracens chief executive Edward Griffiths insisted the club's decision to hold a minute's silence in memory of Baroness Thatcher was not a matter of politics but 'a question of respect'. Saracens and Exeter have both confirmed they will mark the former Prime Minister's death with periods of silence ahead of their respective Aviva Premiership fixtures this weekend.

Premiership Rugby have not issued a central edict, leaving each individual home club to make their own decision on what has become a divisive issue in sport.

Cricket's LV= County Championship began today without honouring Baroness Thatcher, who died on Monday aged 87, and the weekend's football fixtures will follow suit.

The Premier League and Football League have not asked clubs to formally mark the former Prime Minister's passing and although there has been no public statement on the issue, the FA has privately confirmed again today there will be no minute's silence ahead of the two FA Cup semi-finals this weekend. Griffiths is confident the minute's silence will be respected ahead of Sunday's game against Worcester at Allianz Park, despite some Saracens supporters voicing their disagreement on social media sites. 'We think it is the right thing to do. It is a question of respect, not a question of politics,' Griffiths said. 'I don't think anyone would disagree that Baroness Thatcher made an immense contribution to this country and indeed the wider world. 'We think as a club that it is correct to respect that contribution. 'In our mind it is a clear and simple decision. Sometimes in life when clear and simple decisions are there to be made, you make them without worrying what one or two might say. 'If something is right, it is right. 'I am confident Saracens supporters will conduct themselves in a respectful way as they always do. Whether football clubs are able to say the same thing about their supporters is a matter for them. 'I don't understand how that would affect whether it is right to show respect or not. Something is either the right thing to do or not the right thing to do.'



Reading instead will hold a period of silence for the 96 victims, as this is the game closest to the 24th anniversary of the disaster that occurred during Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Given the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Commission that were published last September, which revealed an enormous cover up by South Yorkshire Police and the Tory government, this will be a particularly emotional weekend for Liverpool, both as a club and a city, and Rodgers insists honouring the victims is the only appropriate action.

'It's the only minute's silence there should be this weekend,' said Rodgers.



'We are entering a period of remembrance here for 96 people who died going to a football game and for the families who suffered for many, many years. They have just about got some sort of justification.

'That is the only remembrance there can be. Knowing the Reading supporters as well, it will give them the opportunity to respect the families that others have shown since their campaign was justified.

'It is Reading's opportunity for the 96 and that is the only remembrance that there can be.'

The Hillsborough Family Support Group have said that holding a minute’s silence in honour of Baroness Thatcher would be ‘a disgrace and an insult to all fans’.



The group was founded in May 1989 by a majority of the families who lost loved ones in the disaster at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.



Margaret Aspinall, chair of the HFSG, has spoken out after pressure continues to grow on football clubs to honour the passing of the former Prime Minister.

Neither the Premier League, the Football League nor the Football Association have asked clubs to hold a minute’s silence - or applause - in relation to the former Prime Minister, who died on Monday aged 87 after a stroke.



Football Supporters' Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke said: 'The FSF backs the decision made by the football authorities not to impose a minute's silence across all fixtures this weekend to mark the death of Margaret Thatcher.



'Should individual clubs wish to hold a minute's silence or commemorate the passing of Margaret Thatcher in their own manner that is a matter for them.



'We would expect that most fans' thoughts this weekend will turn to the friends and families of those 96 fellow supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough 24 years ago.'

Tragedy: Mrs Thatcher visited Hillsborough after 96 people were killed in 1989

Former FA chief executive Graham Kelly however is leading calls to mark Baroness Thatcher's death with a minute's silence this weekend.

Kelly, who was at the FA during the tragedies at Hillsborough, Heysel and Valley Parade in the 80s, says the former Prime Minister should be treated with respect by the football community.

The former FA boss said: 'Football should mark the passing of a long-serving leader with the appropriate level of respect. Wearing black armbands would be respectful but a minute's silence would be the most fitting.' Lady Thatcher repeatedly clashed with Kelly over the issue of hooliganism, but the former FA boss still respected her iron will to resolve the problem. Kelly, who quit the FA in 1998, added: 'It would be disrespectful to allow the weekend's games to go by without honouring her in an appropriate way. Football will be out of step with the rest of the country.'

Snub: There was no tribute for Mrs Thatcher at the Manchester derby on Monday, just hours after her death Kelly led the FA through some troubled times for the game as he struggled to deal with deep-rooted social issues at football matches.

He was summoned for a meeting with Thatcher at Downing Street after hooligans rampaged at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup tie between Luton and Millwall in 1985.

Kelly said: 'We didn't always see eye to eye and football didn't always agree with her remedies, but she was a strong woman. She was also a compassionate woman and that is something I will remember after Hillsborough.

'She had a family of her own and fully understood the ramifications of the disaster for other families involved.' The Premier League and FA have said they will not hold a minute's silence in her memory this weekend but Wigan owner Whelan, Reading chairman Madejski and former Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis added their calls for them to change their minds. Whelan has called for the FA to arrange a tribute before his club's FA Cup semi-final against Millwall at Wembley on Saturday, saying: 'We owe Mrs Thatcher a minute's silence. Recognition: Wigan chairman Dave Whelan called for a tribute for Mrs Thatcher at this weekend's matches

'It is not my decision, it is for the FA to decide, but I would be in favour of wearing an armband out of respect to Mrs Thatcher. We have to say thank you very much for the services the former PM has given us.



'Mrs Thatcher was a very, very special lady and a very special Prime Minister. After Winston Churchill, we have probably had two or three really good PMs and she was definitely one of those.'



Reading chairman Madejski said: 'We have got to appreciate that Margaret Thatcher was a world leader who did so much for this country. She deserves a minute's silence.'



Ellis, now president emeritus at Villa Park, said: 'I hope Aston Villa hold a minute's silence against Fulham on Saturday and I will be suggesting it to Paul Faulkner, the chief executive.



'But I'm the old man now, not the boss. I thought the world of Margaret Thatcher and there should be some sort of recognition.'



