It is one of the most important questions regarding the incident. The police commander in charge of Hillsborough Stadium with years of experience at the ground was Chief Superintendent Brian Mole. He took charge of the 1987 ad 1988 FA Cup semi-finals played at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium. However, he was replace by Ch Supt David Duckenfield on 27 March 1989. The change in command has always been questioned given the fact it took place just over two weeks prior to the games between Liverpool and Nottingham Forrest.
Recent inquests into the disaster have revealed that a prank was the reason for the transfer of Brian Mole.
Officers of his division were involved in a prank on a probationary constable, which saw them subject him to a fake robbery. There have been claims that Brian Mole was removed from his post as police commander of the Sheffield division in charge of policing Hillsborough following the incident. This, despite the fact that there was no evidence to suggest that he had any knowledge of the prank itself.
Nevertheless, it is thought that Mole was made accountable for the issue and forced to move on. Although, as officers of the division recall it today, he was transferred for “career development reasons”. The move remains one of the key issues surrounding Hillsborough, especially given it happened just 19 days prior to the FA Cup semi-final.
Furthermore, when Duckenfield was given the position, he was never given the relevant training for handling a match of such magnitude by Brian Mole. There are still questions to be answered regarding this change, although many of the relevant documents regarding the change have since disappeared, making it hard to get to the bottom of it.
