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THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016 SPORTS Hillsborough jury retires to consider verdicts LONDON: Jurors at the inquests into the on the evidence you heard in court. “Put match commander Duckenfield opened cation of a new report into the disaster. police officers present on the day. deaths of 96 Liverpool fans at the 1989 out of your mind anything you may have an exit gate. At the beginning of the new inquests, “As you will recall, it was suggested to Hillsborough disaster retired to consider read, heard or discussed about the disas- It enabled 2,000 fans to stream into Goldring said that none of the victims many witnesses that senior officers col- their verdicts yesterday, over two years ter. Decide the case dispassionately on the ground and they piled into the should be blamed for their deaths. lectively sought to present a ‘false narra- since the hearings began. the evidence. already over-full pens behind the goal at Family members then paid emotional tive’ of the disaster,” he said. The jury of seven women and three “Put emotion to one side. Do not make that end of the ground, causing a fatal tributes to each of the 96 victims. The “The senior officers from whom we men, which has been sitting since March critical findings unless the facts justify crush. In March last year at the hearings, jurors heard evidence from more than heard strongly denied that suggestion. 2014 at a purpose-built courtroom in them. On the other hand, do not shrink Duckenfield apologised to the families of 800 witnesses on subjects including sta- You will need to consider this evidence Warrington, northwest England, will con- from making such findings if they do. the victims after admitting to lying that dium safety, match planning, the events because if you were to take the view sider 14 key questions set out by coroner “You decide what evidence you accept fans had forced the gate open them- of the day, the emergency response and there was some deliberate decision, you John Goldring. and what evidence you reject.” The selves. evidence gathering by police after the might think it reflected a view of the facts One question concerns whether sen- tragedy occurred on April 15, 1989 during disaster. of the disaster taken by the senior offi- ior police officer David Duckenfield is an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool ‘CONFLICTS’ The court then looked at each victim’s cers. That, of course, is a matter for you.” responsible for the unlawful killing of the and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Under English law, an inquest exists final movements before medical experts There is no limit on how long the jury fans by gross negligence manslaughter, in Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium in solely to determine the cause of death. It and pathologists gave evidence about may take to reach their conclusions. The what remains Britain’s worst sporting dis- northern England. cannot impose criminal sentences. The the circumstances of their deaths. first report into the disaster, published by aster. Addressing the jury, in front of Seeking to alleviate a crush that had original coroner’s verdicts of accidental Goldring also told the jurors that they leading judge Peter Taylor in 1990, led to dozens of relatives of the victims, developed outside the ground at the death were quashed in 2012 after a cam- would have to resolve “conflicts” between all-seater stadiums becoming compulso- Goldring said: “You decide the case only Leppings Lane End shortly before kick-off, paign by victims’ families led to the publi- the accounts of Liverpool supporters and ry in the English Premier League. — AFP Klopp the focus as Dortmund meets Liverpool in Europa MUNICH: Rarely has one man been the Here are some things to know about focus of such attention in the Europa Thursday’s matches: League. But Juergen Klopp’s return to Borussia Dortmund as Liverpool manager DORTMUND-LIVERPOOL for the first leg of the quarterfinals was Of course Liverpool’s trip to Germany always going to be an emotional affair with isn’t just about Klopp - even if German such a strong bond between him and his broadcaster Sport1 was reportedly plan- former club after seven largely successful ning a “Kloppo Cam” focused only on the years. Liverpool manager during the game. Klopp oversaw steady progression after For Dortmund, the Europa League repre- taking over Dortmund in 2008, and led the sents arguably a better chance of silverware young side to back-to-back Bundesliga than the Bundesliga, where it trails Bayern titles by 2012, when the club claimed its by five points despite producing the best- first double by humbling Bayern Munich in ever campaign by a second-place team. Dortmund also has a German Cup semifinal to come against Hertha Berlin, but progres- sion in Europe is a priority. Ilkay Gundogan, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Mats Hummels took part in Tuesday’s training and look set to return, leaving Neven Subotic the only player injured. Liverpool playmaker Roberto Firmino has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the past three weeks, but traveled with the squad to Germany and could be in line for a return. BILBAO-SEVILLA Fernando Llorente returns home to face the player who took his place in the hearts of Athletic Bilbao supporters. Llorente MUNICH: Bayern’s Arturo Vidal, second right, celebrates with team mates at the end of the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match joined Sevilla this season from Juventus, between FC Bayern Munich and Benfica Lisbon at the Allianz Arena in Munich, southern Germany, Tuesday. — AP but the Spanish striker grew up playing for DORTMUND: Liverpool’s manager Bilbao from 2005-13 before heading to Italy. Juergen Klopp talks to the media during “I spent 17 wonderful years of my life in Bilbao,” Llorente said. “It was always an hon- Benfica treat Bayern a press conference prior to the Europa League quarterfinal soccer match or to play for them. Now it is my turn to play between Borussia Dortmund and against them, and I will give everything for Liverpool FC in Dortmund, Germany, the Sevilla shirt. It will certainly be a very yesterday. — AP hard match.” Bilbao is led by veteran striker defeat as moral victory Aritz Aduriz, who recently got a call-up for the German Cup final. A Champions League Spain based on his excellent scoring form final appearance in 2013 was as good as it since taking over for Llorente. LISBON: From the rapturous reception they “Bayern certainly wanted to win 5-0 but we neighbours Sporting this season, yet won the got after that. Aduriz leads the Europa League this sea- received on their return home to the comments played superbly,” midfielder Nicolas Gaitan told one which really mattered last month when a 1- The end, when it came in 2015, was son with eight goals, making Bilbao the from their players and coach, it was clear that reporters. “We’ll be much stronger in our own 0 success took the top of the Portuguese league mourned by Dortmund fans who remem- competition’s top-scoring team with 20 Benfica regarded their 1-0 Champions League stadium, with the backing of our supporters.” at the expense of their rivals. bered only the good times, as well as goals in 10 matches. vTwo-time defending defeat to Bayern Munich as a moral victory. Several dozen fans waited at Lisbon airport to They have remained there ever since. They Klopp’s infectious good humor and enthusi- champion Sevilla has yet to win away from Bayern had scored 18 goals in their four previous welcome the team home in the small hours of also survived a torrid second leg away to Zenit St asm. “Danke Kloppo” (Thank you Kloppo) home in five European matches. home European games and when Arturo Vidal Wednesday morning and more were camped at Petersburg in the last round, falling behind on was trending on Twitter at the time. Klopp is gave them a second-minute lead in Tuesday’s the Stadium of Light. the night before rallying late to complete a 3-1 already extremely popular among Liverpool VILLARREAL-SPARTA PRAGUE quarter-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, the “The team played to a really high standard, aggregate win. Even so, a win over Bayern is still fans and players for much the same reasons, With a berth in next season’s Champions Portuguese champions appeared destined for a they played with conviction and determination,” a huge task for Benfica, who in recent years have with his passion for the game and his new League just about assured, Villarreal can focus long night. Instead, the defensive pairing of coach Rui Vitoria said. “I’m a proud coach after become a springboard club for players, mostly club clear to all from his behavior on the on winning an elusive title. A 2-1 win at Eibar Victor Lindelof and Jardel succeeded in doing seeing the team play with such personality. “We South Americans, hoping to move on to one of what few others have this season by keeping came here to do our job without changing our the bigger European leagues. touchline and in news conferences. on Sunday gave Villarreal control of fourth Klopp quickly put his stamp on Liverpool Robert Lewandowski off the scoresheet, while strategy. “The responsibility for the second match will place in the Spanish league with an eight- through the team’s high-energy approach full backs Andre Almeida and Eliseu nullified The tie is open,” he added. “Even when they be the same. Bayern have beaten a lot of teams and fierce pressing game.