On Monday, 8 April 2013, one of the modern world's most influential and important figures in its history died. Former British Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke. Britain's first and only female Prime Minister was a polarising character and it is likely that her legacy will be quite different in the eyes of many people.
For most football fans in Britain, that legacy itself will be one that they would rather forget. Thatcher's reign at 10 Downing Street between 1979 and 1990 started with glory for English clubs in Europe as Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa all won the Champions Cup as it was known at the time between 1979 and 1984.
Then, came the Heysel tragedy in 1985, when 39 fans died when a stampede by Liverpool fans caused a wall to collapse on Juventus fans. The initial report found the Liverpool fans culpable for the tragedy with 14 fans charged with manslaughter. Thatcher pressured the FA to withdraw English clubs from all UEFA competitions and within days, UEFA issued an indefinite ban on all English clubs in their competitions.
Thatcher further recommended an ID card scheme for fans to stop hooliganism and violence at crowded dilapidated stadia throughout the country. This scheme never came to past - it was considered akin to using a sledgehammer to break open a peanut.
The last years of the 1980s were a dark time for English football climaxing in the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989 where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at an FA Cup semifinal. Without looking at the full evidence at the time, Thatcher actually laid blame for the tragedy on the Liverpool fans - a fact that will forever rankle with the families of those who died and Liverpool fans as long as the club is existent.
Add the fact that Thatcher was heavily involved in the closure of mines, docks and factories in England's former industrial heart of the northwest and you can say that Thatcher is not the most popular person in the Manchester and Liverpool area. Once could say that the only thing Manchester United and Liverpool can agree on is their hatred of the Iron Lady.
Thus, it is not surprising that on Monday night, there was no moment of silence prior to kickoff of the much hotly anticipated Manchester derby, and it is not surprising that the Premier League and FA has not obligated clubs to observe Lady Thatcher's death with a moment of silence prior to kickoff of games this coming weekend - the ECB has also done the same with counties starting the domestic cricket season on Wednesday.
However, this is quite a contrast to recent times when sport in Britain acknowledged the passing of the likes of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother by observing a moment's silence before kickoff or even postponing games like they did after Diana's death in 1997.
On the other hand, Margaret Thatcher is not a member of royalty even if her manner exuded regality towards the 1990s. At the end of the day, she was a politician - a damn good one I might add. Politicians are a bit like referees - it's very rare to find one who is cheered and applauded to the skies and Thatcher certainly does not fit that mould.
Thatcher almost destroyed English football, fueled by tragedies at the time like the Valley Parade fire, Hillsborough and Heysel along with hooligan fights between rival supporters. English football fans were treated like cage animals and were it not the national game, the game would have died off at the time. However, it didn't and was only merely left on its knees, naked, bloodied by the bludgeoning of Thatcher's policies at the time.
On its knees, football was forced to reform - the Taylor Report and Premier League are legacies of that reform. And football in England has never had it better.
In a way, Thatcher indirectly brought this recent age of prosperity in English football but she shouldn't really get any credit for it given that she tried to destroy the sport.
Thus, a moment's silence for Maggie this Saturday at 3pm may not be the right move in the eyes of football officials and fans. Maggie wouldn't have cared either way.
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