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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and Everton boss Roberto Martinez joined each other in marking the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster by paying tribute to its victims. #INSERT
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caption:Fans' scarves fill the centre circle before the Hillsborough anniversary memorial service at Anfield on Tuesday.
END# • Rodgers: Win for the 96 Rodgers and Martinez both gave readings at a memorial service held at Anfield on Tuesday afternoon. The service, which was also screened live at Goodison Park, was part of a day of tributes to remember the Liverpool fans who died in the disaster on April 15, 1989. A total of 96 supporters died in a crush at an FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium. The match that day was abandoned at 3:06 p.m. -- and as an act of remembrance to mark the anniversary on Tuesday, a minute's silence was observed at that time, both at the service and other venues across Merseyside, as bells rang at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and the city's town hall. Speaking at the memorial service, Rodgers said: "I want to thank the Hillsborough families for asking me to speak, I'm humbled and privileged to be here. "Every day I walk past the Shankly statue and the European cups and am reminded of the great players of the past and those we have now. "You don't struggle for inspiration when you work for this great football club. "The single biggest source of inspiration for me is when I arrive each match day and see the Hillsborough memorial." Martinez, who had told a news conference on Tuesday morning that it was an "honour" for him to represent Everton at the service, said: "I was 15 in 1989, a football-mad kid from a football-mad family like many of you. "We couldn't believe that someone could not come home from a football match. "I've been here 10 months and have experienced great warmth and friendship, the characteristics that sum up the Hillsborough families. I don't have to tell you but Everton are with you, you know that. "We are with you today at Goodison and we will erect a permanent memorial at Goodison later this year. Everton remembers. We always will." In Sheffield, the city's cathedral held a two-minute silence at 3:07 p.m. local time. A short service also took place at Hillsborough, and a one-minute silence was observed in Nottingham's Old Market Square. Prime Minister David Cameron commented about the anniversary on Twitter: Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour party, also shared his thoughts: The tributes have come as new inquests into the deaths of the victims are held in Warrington. Those hearings have been adjourned until April 22 to allow families to mark the anniversary of the disaster.
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