The Sun (United Kingdom) a free special issue of "The Sun" was distributed by the Royal Mail to 22 million homes in England. The promotion, which did not include a Page 3 topless model, was announced in mid-May and was believed to be the first such freesheet issued by a UK national newspaper. The boycott in Merseyside following the newspaper's coverage of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 meant that copies were not dispatched to areas with a Liverpool postcode. Royal Mail employees in Merseyside and surrounding areas were given special dispensation by their managers to allow them not to handle the publication "on a
History of Liverpool F.C. (1985–present) season, due to homesickness. Liverpool struggled at the start of the season and by January they were nine points behind leaders Arsenal; by April the teams were level on points, and Arsenal were ahead on goal difference. By this time, Liverpool had reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough stadium on 15 April 1989. Within six minutes the match was abandoned; overcrowding at the Leppings Lane end of the ground resulted in the death of ninety-six people, as they were crushed against perimeter fencing. Ninety-four fans died, in what became known as the Hillsborough disaster,