... as the Hillsborough Independent Panel finally revealed its findings after a 36-month investigation involving more than 450,000 pages of reports, witness statements and minutes.
While this report can never be full closure for the families of the 96, it is at least a start.
Twenty-three years is far too long for justice and truth to out, however. There is no way in which it is acceptable for a police force to cover up their failings and ineptitudes and try to pin it on innocent people who lose their lives.
The scale of the cover-up is truly disgusting and it is only right that members of the South Yorkshire police force are held to account for what they have done. At the very least this accounts for perverting the course of justice.
The Hillsborough files have now been re-opened with a view to an IPCC referral and, according to that South Yorkshire Police, 195 officers who were on duty at Hillsborough still work for the force. Usually in these cases specific officers are named and subsequently investigated so there is hope that justice can finally be done on those people who so despicably smeared the names and the characters of the dead.
Of course, there is only so much one can say about the Hillsborough disaster. There are no words that can make those people feel better. There are no words that can bring back the dead. There isn’t much anyone can say that can undo the hurt caused to an entire city by members of the police force and the press.
However, there are actions.
South Yorkshire Police must face their consequences, as must the coroner who decided that after 3.15 PM everyone had died and nothing could have been done.
There has been a lot of talk over the past few days at how inspirational the families of the 96 are, and it’s true. Over the past 23 years they have never wavered or faltered and at last they have cleared the names of the dead. The whole world now knows the truth.
Follow @srbellis on Twitter for occasional footballing insights.