In April I wrote a column for MailOnline saying how Everton chairman Bill Kenwright’s speech at the Hillsborough memorial service had moved me to tears. In the article I talked of the togetherness on Merseyside, how the city of Liverpool will forever honour the 96 who died, and how true football fans stick together.
So given what I’d said back in April, I was surprised that last week’s column led to a few Everton fans accusing me of ignoring the part they’ve played in the justice campaign.
True football fans stick together
Here’s what happened: a few rival fans had read the headline of my column: 'Liverpool fans deserve the title…' and sent abusive tweets to me.
I know some people react to a headline without reading the full article, so I had expected some abuse from those who didn’t want Liverpool to win the title. But I felt the level of abuse was inappropriate given the fact the piece urged people to never forget those who died. When talking about Hillsborough I believe it’s important to stay respectful and always be measured.
So I suggested those fans who had been abusive – one said he wanted to run me over - spend some time at the memorial and read the names, with the hope that it might help them be less abusive in their tweets. Given what I wrote in April, it clearly wasn’t a message to all Everton fans, just to those using language and threats that I felt unnecessary as a reaction to a sensitive article about the tragedy.
The abuse ramped up, so did the hate, lies were then told about my reasons for even writing the piece.
I’ve no problem if people disagree with me, but hate and abuse and lies don’t belong in a discussion about the Hillsborough tragedy.
Especially lies. A malicious lie can cause serious damage. As we all know…
I will leave the final word to a man born on Merseyside who grew up supporting Everton, played for Liverpool and coaches at Liverpool FC. He texted me this last Tuesday: 'Fantastic piece in MailOnline today, nice one.