On 17th July 2014, Newcastle fans Liam Sweeney and John Alder were on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 on their way to watch Newcastle play a pre-season friendly in New Zealand when their plane was shot down and all 298 souls on board were lost.
Over eight years later those responsible have been convicted of murder at The Hague in the Netherlands and sentenced to life imprisonment. It is of course of little comfort to the families of those who lost loved ones on that day.
Barry Sweeney, father of Liam, spoke to The Chronicle after the verdict saying: “When I heard the verdict I felt a bit numb. Three out of four got a sentence but it doesn’t really change a lot because they’re not going to go to jail.
“It’s still good that they’ve been accused and found guilty, at least that’s a step forward. But we have still lost 298 people that didn’t need to be lost and we’re never going to get them back. It will never end but at least we know now they were murdered so that is a help.
“It was emotional. When I got back to the hotel I was totally drained. I think it took it out of everybody. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been coming for eight years and four months.”
The tragedy struck a chord with Newcastle fans and an applause on 17 minutes was held at every home match the following season to commemorate the two fans who lost their lives. It’s actually unbelievable to me that it was over eight years ago, it still feels so recent, and I’m sure that feeling is amplified for the loved ones.
From The Chronicle: Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said evidence presented by prosecutors at a trial proved the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian rebels on July 17 2014. The three defendants convicted have two weeks to file an appeal.
It has taken a long time but at least there is finally some form of justice and some answers as to what happened that day.
RIP Liam and John.