31 years later, Liverpool boycott of The Sun still on

Nearly every taxi has the words “Do not buy The Sun” inscribed on the side in place of an advert.

Thirty-one years on, The Sun is yet to liberate itself in Liverpool, UK.

On getting to Liverpool, one is welcomed by taxis eager to capitalise on confused travellers. Nearly every taxi has the words “Do not buy The Sun” inscribed on the side in place of an advert.

Although The Sun is still sold in a few places in Liverpool, reading it in public is still frowned upon.

This has been the norm for the past three decades. It is a story of wrongful coverage, angry Liverpool fans and those who live in the city or are affiliated with either. Largely, a story of boycott.

Where it all began

The Sun is a tabloid newspaper and one of the largest-circulating dailies in the UK. It has been involved in many controversies in its history.

One such is its coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989.

What happened?

The Hillsborough disaster took place on April 15, 1989, during an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

Ninety-six people were killed and 766 others seriously injured.

According to an online publication, the crash was a result of “weak stadium infrastructure, poor officiating by police officials at the match and severe overcrowding at the grounds."

To date, it is the worst stadium-related disaster in British sports history.

The Sun reported the disaster at the time, with the headline ‘’The Truth’’, four days after the tragedy occurred. The article accused fans of causing deaths of 96 people, pickpocketing the dead and urinating on police.

Three sub-headings followed the headline, "some fans picked pockets of victims", "some fans urinated on the brave cops" and "some fans beat up police giving kiss of life".

Police blamed the events surrounding the tragedy on Liverpool fans in attendance, accusing them of being drunken hooligans.

This would then prompt a serious boycott by readers in Liverpool. The Sun’s sales dipped and have not recovered since.

So serious is the boycott that even supermarkets and newsagents stopped selling the newspaper. Others have all together declined to even say its full name, instead referring to it as "The S*n" or "The Scum".

The 1990 Taylor Report concluded that all accusations of drunkenness and violent behaviour from Liverpool fans were unfounded, stating that most fans were "not drunk".

In 2017, Liverpool Football Club banned journalists from The newspaper from entering Anfield for press coverage, denying them access to matches and press conferences.

Did The Sun apologise?

In 2005, The Sun published an official statement saying, "Our carelessness and thoughtlessness following that blackest of days made the grief of their families and friends even harder to bear.”

"We long ago apologised publicly to the victims' families, friends and to the city of Liverpool for our awful error."

Despite a full-page apology for the story and another apology by News International's Executive Chairman James Murdoch in 2011, the boycott still stands.

However, Liverpool was unforgiving.

Campaign spokesman Peter Hooton said:  "People don't feel that there has been any genuine apology. There won't be closure on this until there is justice for the 96. Most Liverpool fans will never forgive the paper and will never buy it."

What remains clear, however, is that Liverpool came together as a city, not only to mourn 96 of their own, but also to overcome the government and police conspiracy and lies published in the media.