FA Cup: Nottingham Forest tribute to Hillsborough victims - BBC News
Nottingham Forest and Liverpool will face each other in the FA Cup for the first time since 1989.
Despite the high demand for tickets, Nottingham Forest have covered 97 seats

Nottingham Forest has left 97 seats vacant for their match with Liverpool to honour those who lost their lives due to the Hillsborough disaster.

The clubs are meeting on Sunday for the first time in the FA Cup since their 1989 semi-final, which led to 97 spectators losing their lives.

They are expected to be the only empty seats at the sell-out match at City Ground.

Nottinghamshire Police have asked all fans to enjoy the match safely.

Nottingham Forest said it was looking forward to welcoming 4,000 away fans.

Despite the high demand for tickets, the club made 97 seats unavailable to purchase.

Instead, they have been covered with a banner paying tribute to the Liverpool fans who lost their lives after overcrowding occurred on the terraces of Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on 15 April 1989.

In 2016, inquests concluded that the fans who had died had been unlawfully killed.

No-one has ever been convicted over police actions concerning the disaster, in what a senior government minister described as "the greatest scandal of British policing of our lifetimes".

Police are warning fans not to try taking flares or smoke bombs into the stadium

Nottingham Forest have already beaten Huddersfield, Leicester and Arsenal in the lead-up to the quarter-final match.

There was violence in the city ahead of the clash against Leicester.

With a trip to Wembley at stake, Nottinghamshire Police is asking fans not to let their emotions get the better of them.

Fans have also been warned not to try taking flares or smoke bombs into the stadium.

The match kicks off at 18:00 GMT.

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