April 15 (Reuters) - Everton on Wednesday marked the 37th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster by unveiling a permanent tribute at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium to the 97 football fans who died after the tragedy in 1989.
The fans, many of them young, were crushed in an overcrowded, fenced-in enclosure at the ground in Sheffield, northern England, at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. It was one of the world's worst stadium disasters.
The memorial depicts two young mascots holding hands - a girl wearing an Everton shirt with the number nine and a boy in Liverpool red with the number seven - symbolising unity that transcends the clubs' historic Merseyside rivalry.
"Everton welcomed representatives of the Hillsborough families, and friends from Liverpool Football Club, to Hill Dickinson Stadium today to pay respects to the 97," Everton said in a statement.
Liverpool greats Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush laid floral tributes on behalf of the club at the unveiling.
Everton host Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
