First published in The Times, April 18, 1989

A South Yorkshire police superintendent gave the order to let thousands of late supporters into Hillsborough stadium because he feared a wall was about to collapse on them.

The role of Supt Roger Marshall emerged last night as it was disclosed that the police were considering calling a halt to play in the FA Cup semi-final before crowds spilled over the barrier, forcing the game to be abandoned.

Talks to call off the game were taking place before the kick-off, Mr Irvine Patnick, Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam, said last night. ``The discussions were overtaken by the players coming on to the pitch and then events overtook them'', he said. Mr Ray Lewis, the match referee, giving his first public account of how the tragedy unfolded, confirmed last night that no approach was made to him to delay the kick-off.

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If it had been, he would probably have done so. ``The first indication I had there was any trouble was after six minutes when a lone policeman ran onto the field of play and asked me to stop the game'', Mr Lewis said. ``The referee normally listens to the police and takes their advice. I have been in that position myself and in 1987 I held up a semi-final for 15 minutes at the request of the police because both sets of fans were caught in a traffic jam on the M1. ``That was the Spurs versus Watford game at Villa Park and the decision to delay the kick-off was made with the liaison of the then secretary of the FA, Ted Croker, and the managers of both sides.''

Mr Lewis said it was some time before the seriousness of the situation at Hillsborough filtered down to the changing rooms, where the two sides were trying to keep up their concentration. He said: ``It was 30 or 40 minutes after we stopped before we started hearing there may have been one or two fatalities. No one realized how serious it was. Now I do know I am totally numbed by it.''

Mr Peter Wright, the South Yorkshire chief constable, whose force has been bitterly criticized for the way it handled crowd control at the game, defended the actions of his officers. He said facts which he could not make available because of the pending inquiries into the disaster would vindicate his officers.

Mr Marshall was in charge of the police operation outside the Leppings Lane entrance where nearly 4,000 supporters were crushing to gain entry at 16 turnstiles five minutes before the match began. The crush of supporters was so great that a police horse and its rider were reported to have been lifted clear of the ground. As the throng worsened, officers trying to control the supporters grew alarmed that a wall might collapse with possible loss of life.

The pressure of bodies bent the supports on the opposite side of the gate Mr Jack Stone, a club steward, wedged two wooden poles against it. Witnesses said a police officer told Mr Stone to open the 16ft-wide gate. However, he had refused. Mr Stone eventually handed over the keys, saying: ``This is your responsibility, not mine''. A witness, Mr Stephen Mitton, of Southport, said: ``Two policemen came over and told him to open the gate. He said, `No, don't. If you do, there will be a crush..' '' An officer had said that opening the gate was a life-or-death decision. ``Over the radio, I heard, `The wall is going, the wall is going'. What else could he do? Nobody could have foreseen the consequences.''

Once the gate was open, thousands of Liverpool supporters, many without tickets, surged forward. There was space available on both wings of the terracing in front of the West Stand but with no one to direct them most took a direct route. A police officer on duty at the Leppings Lane entrance confirmed that it had been Mr Marshall's sole decision to open the gates to let in the crush of Liverpool fans outside.

The officer said the crowd had rushed in ``like a train'' and gone straight up the tunnel to the terraces. ``Many of them were drunk. Suggestions that these fans had been delayed in arriving in Sheffield because of roadworks is nonsense. ``In fact, of course, there was a lot of room but there simply were not enough officers around inside to stop the charge of the fans'', he said.

``It was a tough decision for the superintendent to make. He is an experienced officer and he tried to avert a potentially dangerous situation but could not possibly have realized the consequences. He now stands alone...it is a decision he is going to have to live with for the rest of his life.'' Mr Marshall said in Sheffield last night: ``I cannot comment on what has happened but you can understand how I feel''.

Mr Marshall, aged 46, married with two children, is second-in-command of F Division in Sheffield, which has responsibility for the Hillsborough ground. He is a qualified lawyer who joined the police force in 1962. The decision to order the gate to be opened, and its effect on the crush on the terracing, will be a key element in the external inquiry.