‘DALGLISH SHOULD BE KNIGHTED’

KENNY DALGLISH deserves a knighthood for his role in supporting the Hillsborough families, believes the leaders of Glasgow City Council.

The former Celtic captain was the Liverpool manager at the time of the Disaster and the events of that awful day clearly had a huge effect on Kenny as he led a city in mourning the loss of the 96.

Today Glasgow City Council will hear a motion in chambers today calling for the honour to be granted.

The motion states:

“Council welcomes the findings of the Hillsborough Inquest, which concluded the 96 football supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough were unlawfully killed; recognises this as a monumental step in achieving justice for the 96 victims; congratulates the Hillsborough families for their tireless campaign, the people of Liverpool for the support they have given the families and pays tribute to Glasgow’s Kenny Dalglish who stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Liverpool and played a critical role in supporting the campaign for truth and justice.”

Last month, after 27 years seeking justice, the Hillsborough families finally heard the verdict that they had waited decades for. An inquest held in Warrington in a specially convened courtroom found that the Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed. The jury also found that the Liverpool supporters played no part in causing the disaster.

Kenny Dalglish became a great leader in Liverpool in 1989, not just a football manager. He visited injury supporters in hospital and attended as many funerals as possible as the city mourned their loss.

Celtic played its part too, staging an emotional Tribute Match at the end of April 1989 which was Liverpool’s first match after the tragedy. Both sets of supporters came together for perhaps the most emotionally charged singing of the anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Celtic FC and the Celtic supporters have always stood with the Hillsborough Families and this solidarity was recognised at the weekend when Celtic invited representatives from the families to attend the match against Aberdeen to display the solidarity banner before the match.

One of the family members carrying that banner had ‘Don’t Buy The Sun’ on the back of his Liverpool strip.

Kenny Dalglish left Celtic in the summer of 1977, signing for Liverpool for £440,000. He became perhaps the finest player ever to wear the famous red jersey on Merseyside.