Rangers manager Steven Gerrard struck a sombre and respectful tone as he urged the fans to refrain from visiting the stadium tomorrow, on what is the 50th anniversary of that tragic day in January 1971 when 66 supporters lost their lives.
He stated, “In a normal situation, we’d have a lot of people around the ground and we’d obviously put on a full service so we could pay our respects that way.”
“But because of Covid-19, things will look slightly different. As a club we still want to pay our full respects to everyone involved and to all the names that are no longer with us.”
In what is a huge day on and off the pitch, Gerrard continued on the expectation and awareness of the occasion.
“It’s a very special day tomorrow, myself and the players are all aware of that but I would ask the fans to stay away. I know that is tough but we also have to respect the situation we’re all in at the moment and stay safe at home.”
The importance, symbolism and personal resonance of the Hillsborough disaster is embedded in the psyche of the Liverpool legend and there are obvious parallels to the events at Ibrox 50 years ago.
Gerrard’s cousin, Jon-Paul Gilhooley, aged just 10 years old, was the youngest victim at Hillsborough so he knows of the trauma and the sense of loss that is apparent.
“There’s certainly a relation from my point of view with my connection to the Hillsborough disaster.”
“I certainly know what this means to people and I want to send my full respects to all the families and the survivors. I also want to pay my respects to the people who passed away.”
An important occasion will be marked accordingly by all at Rangers and whilst this matters much more than a mere game of football that no fan should ever not come home from, three vital Premiership points would be the perfect toast to our absent friends.