I’m all for sticking with principles… But this is utterly ridiculous. Most of the people involved in the Sun with hillsborough are probably dead or working somewhere else now
OR, This just MIGHT be a good excuse not to hold an England Game and have the approval of their Fans at the same time. As I recall, the last England (mens) game held at The SoL was against Australia. The FA picked up the profits from the Bars, Gate, Sponsorship, TV, in fact everything they could. SAFC did complain that it cost THEM to hold that Game. I suspect though, that if another Full International was offered to them they would risk anoying a lot of local Fans if they turned it down.
Just because people have moved on, it doesn't mean the Sun isn't a scummy paper anymore. It's in their DNA.
I am not at all surprised by this, if they let the Sun in because it was an international it wouldn't go down well with their fans. I'm sure if there was a poll sent out to season ticket holders they would unanimously agree with what the club have done. Can't disagree with that decision in the slightest why upset your fanbase to hold one match?
Similar to the Daily Heil, they have photographers tailing the RMT union leader, his wife and kids...hoping for a picture they can print to mock him.
The FA, I assume, have to be seen to fair with all of the major media. If they were to ban The Sun for political reasons there'd be people wanting The Telegraph banned for taking Russian money to distribute their propaganda. Over many years the media has rightly been investigated, fined and faced criminal charges, that's something that should and will continue ... ... but this country has a proud history of allowing a free press to investigate the government, the police, the judiciary, etc. The media should be held to account at times but I don't agree with it being restricted. Many newspapers shamefully misrepresented the events during the pit closures, etc. I choose not to buy them, simple enough. Without this statement, from LFC, no one would know which papers were at the game and no one is forced to buy any of them anyway. LFC has become a cause that people aren't allowed to criticise.
Good for them. There are more places should do this and to more papers. The Mail would be on my list.
You make some very good points about press freedom. My 'but' is, some of the so called freedom is sorely abused. Ie hacking Millie's phone and lots of others for juicy scandal to sell newspapers. The Paps hounding anyone they want then selling the pics to the highest scum newspaper. (Diana?) Also it is rumoured that Mordaunt was pilloried by the Mail, cos she turned down the ex editor, hell has no fury like a man scorned. The BBC have just coughed up a large sum to the Princes ex nanny for some vile slander that was totally fake. Everybody will agree that we need a free press, to shine a light on the powerful and their dirty deeds. The problem we have atm is that the 'press' is often worse than the people they are hanging out to dry. Press regulation is a joke. We all laugh at journos making stuff up about possible players coming into Sunderland. A trivial example perhaps, but this accepted practice is just minor compared with some stuff.
This is very much a one-off gesture and relates entirely to the City of Liverpool. But the idea of banning any National Publication, just because you don't agree with what they stand for, goes against every free principlal that our Country stands for. The quotation, often attributed to Voltaire, ---- I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Covers it for me. And in passing I would mention that I often learn more from those that I disagree with than from those who agree with me.
Liverpool is one of my favourite cities to visit in the UK. I've had loads of great times there both on lads weekends and with the wife. But I'm growing increasingly irritated by some of the attitudes coming out of the place. I can understand their ire at the Sun for its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster but there seems to be an attitude of positioning Liverpool as some kind of self-proclaimed socialist republic which is naive and damaging to democracy. As for banning the press, that's the start of the slippery slope to totalitarianism. If you consider yourself to be a liberal, you have to be willing to listen viewpoints that you disagree with. That is what defines liberalism, the conviction that everyone is allowed a voice. These so-called liberal groups that advocate the the 'cancelling' or no-platforming of voices that they disagree with are anything but liberal. I genuinely believe that democracy is under threat, mainly from the people who loudly scream that they are defending democracy.
The Sun will be banned from Anfield for every other event, so don't see why they would change their stance for an England match. Its then down to the fa if they allow it to ahead with a media outlet allowed in the ground, they have not. I honestly think any club in the country would still be banning a media outlet from entering their stadium in the same circumstances. Fans would demand it! Think about it nearly 100 fans die at a football match and you read in the paper how you their fellow fans were rifling through the pockets of dead or injured, pissing on and beating up police. All as part of the cover up of what went wrong!
It's easy to say you'd move on or allow it from the perspective of an outsider. Plenty of Sunderland fans still hate Coventry for something that happened nearly 50 years ago. There's not a chance that we'd be forgiving or moving on if our brothers, sisters and children died and The Sun blamed us for it.
Don’t understand why the hell England would want to play there anyway? Their fans don’t consider themselves “English” and boo the National Anthem.