Controversy
Cohen has been criticized for stating, on his radio talk show, that Liverpool F.C. supporters "without tickets" were the "root cause" and "perpetrators" of the Hillsborough Disaster. Liverpool Football Club issued a press statement saying "Mr Cohen has obviously never taken the time to read the Taylor Report which stated clearly that ticketless fans were not a contributory factor or responsible for the events of that day. To use the 20th anniversary of the disaster to repeat false claims about Liverpool fans (which Mr Cohen first broadcast and then apologised for in 2006) is even more unacceptable." Chelsea F.C. also condemned his statements, issuing a press release which stated "We have distanced ourselves and will continue to distance ourselves from any comments that disrespect the memory of Hillsborough. We can see no benefit of giving him legitimacy by the club singling him out. Giving Mr. Cohen oxygen is the worst thing we could do. He is not a representative, nor ever has been a representative of the club." In September 2012, detailed investigation findings were released. The focus was on the disaster and accompanying documents. It was determined after review that it was police failure that was the main cause of the disaster, not fan behavior.
On July 29, 2009, Cohen was replaced by Eric Wynalda as a host of the Fox Football Fone-In (FFF) on FSC.
On August 21, 2009, Cohen closed World Soccer Daily. It returned as World Football Daily, a video and audio podcast, in October 2009.
Read more about this topic: Steven Cohen (soccer)
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