Hillsborough disaster: Jurors selected for retrial of British police officer David Duckenfield as proceedings drag on

London: Potential jurors were on Monday asked which football team they supported before the retrial of a British police officer in charge of security at the Hillsborough stadium, where 96 Liverpool fans died in a crush.

Match commander David Duckenfield, 75, escaped penalty when a jury failed to reach a verdict on gross negligence manslaughter charges in April following a 10-week trial.

But judge Peter Openshaw ordered the retrial at Preston Crown Court near Liverpool, which will begin when the jurors are selected and sworn in.

“I must find jurors who can properly and fairly try such a case,” said the judge, with jurors asked whether they, or any relatives or friends, were supporters of Liverpool, Everton, Sheffield Wednesday or Nottingham Forest.

Duckenfield, who was in court, stands accused of being responsible for 95 of the 96 deaths. The last victim died almost four years after the disaster and cannot be legally linked to the case.

The crush of people at the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, held at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium, remains one of the worst sporting disasters in British history.

It led to years of anger and frustration expressed by relatives and team fans alike at an alleged police cover-up and slow prosecution of the case that followed.

Victims’ families fought a long campaign for events surrounding the disaster to be re-investigated and the Crown Prosecution Service decided to press charges in June 2017.