Jeremy Hunt has apologised for suggesting that hooliganism was in part responsible for the Hillsborough disaster during which ninetysix football fans were crushed to death.
He says he was wrong but in fact he was right.
What used to happen was Liverpool fans would turn up for a match close to kick-off time and create mayhem if they couldn't get through the gates in time. Police crowd control would then instruct gate staff to open the gates and they'd get in for nothing. This is the hooligan element that relatives of the dead conveniently forgot, blaming everyone else instead. Sure, there were many mistakes, and the ground wasn't good enough to cope with so many fans, with seriously unsafe aspects to it. But if those fans at the back hadn't been used to threatening trouble if they weren't let in, and hadn't been pushing so damned hard to get through the entrance tunnel once admitted then the deaths might not have occurred.
Story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/10434714.stm
I don't go to football matches, but sometimes I used to go shopping near the station that was closest to West Ham when a game was on and that was scary enough.
I've talked to people who did go to games about the way a surge in the crowd would crush you against a gate or wall and you'd be helpless. It's inevitable that people are going to get hurt even without the other factors.
You often hear of 'stampedes' at religious gatherings in places like India where large numbers of people are injured. I think we should face up to the fact that we can't have crowds that large without risking casualties. Add in irresponsible people and you have a major disaster waiting to happen.