Liverpool FC say the families of the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster have been "failed" in their pursuit of justice.
The trial of two retired police officers and a solicitor charged with perverting the course of justice following the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters in 1989 collapsed on Wednesday.
Mr. Justice William Davis ruled that there was no case for defendants Donald Denton, Alan Foster and Peter Metcalf to answer.
Liverpool noted the ruling with "huge disappointment", adding, "While it would not be our place, legally or otherwise, to comment on those proceedings as they pertain to individuals, it is incumbent on us to forcefully point out that the 96 victims, their families, survivors and all those who suffered as a result of the Hillsborough tragedy have continuously been failed in their pursuit for justice."
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died in the disaster, described the judgement as "an absolute mockery" and a "shambles".
She added, "We're always the losers no matter what the outcome today".
In 2016, an inquest into the tragedy found that the 96 victims had been "unlawfully killed", owing to a series of catastrophic errors by police and the ambulance services.
Despite that finding, no-one has ever been convicted for their role in the 96 deaths at Hillsborough on April 15, 1989.
Denton, 83, a then Chief Superintendent with South Yorkshire police, former DCI Foster, 74, and the force's former solicitor, Metcalf, 72, were charged in 2017 by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service with two counts each of perverting the course of justice.
It was alleged that the officers and solicitor were involved in the process of amending statements to minimize the blame levelled at South Yorkshire police following the disaster.
Justice Davis said there was no case to answer because altered police statements were prepared for the public inquiry into the disaster by Lord Justice Taylor.
The Hillsborough Family Support Group was disbanded after the end of the inquest in 2016, and Mrs. Aspinall was its chairperson.
"They have had five years to sort it out to bring the best statements forward. They only brought a certain few statements," she said.
"What angers me, all the money it has cost this country. The taxpayers' money. For this to happen at the end, what a shambles, what a disgrace."
Liverpool FC statement:
It is with huge disappointment that Liverpool Football Club notes the latest developments in the judicial process relating to the Hillsborough disaster.
While it would not be our place, legally or otherwise, to comment on those proceedings as they pertain to individuals, it is incumbent on us to forcefully point out that the 96 victims, their families, survivors and all those who suffered as a result of the Hillsborough tragedy have continuously been failed in their pursuit for justice.
We salute all those who have campaigned for justice. They have been let down yet again.
We have a situation in which 96 people were unlawfully killed and yet no individual or group has been deemed legally culpable for their deaths.
As ever, our thoughts are with the families, survivors and campaigners and we would reiterate that, as established by the 2016 inquests, the behaviour of our supporters was not a contributory factor in the disaster, a truth for which the bereaved families had to fight for over a quarter of a century.
The 96 will never be forgotten.
Hillsborough trial collapses as judge rules officers have no case to answer
