Wembley was at the forefront of English football's tributes to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster on Saturday as grounds across the country fell silent in memory of the dead.

The tragedy, which took place on April 15, 1989, saw 96 Liverpool fans die as a result of a crush at the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground, where the Merseyside club were playing in a FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Play was halted in the sixth minute as fans desperately climbed over barriers in order to reach the safe haven of the pitch.

This weekend, all major matches in England kicked off seven minutes later than normal, with a minute's silence observed before kick-off.

At Wembley, where Arsenal were playing Wigan in a FA Cup semi-final, 96 seats were set aside and each had a Liverpool scarf laid upon it.

Both captains laid wreaths in the technical area before kick-off and players and match officials wore black armbands as a mark of respect while a number of the families of the 96 were in attendance.

At Hillsborough, for their Championship match against Blackburn, Wednesday replaced 96 blue seats with white seats bearing red roses at the end of the stadium where the Liverpool fans died.

Liverpool will face Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, when another silence will be held.

Sheffield Wednesday coach Stuart Gray praised everyone involved in the tribute which took place in his team's 3-3 draw with Blackburn in a game played in front of 22,792 fans.

"No father, no mother, or no son or daughter should lose anybody at a football game," said Gray.

"It was just a sad, sad occasion, what happened 25 years ago -- but I think the players played their part, the fans played their apart and both clubs played their part today."

The legacy of judge Peter Taylor's 1990 report into what happened at Hillsborough was the abolition of standing terraces at major England grounds and the creation of all-seater stadia.

However, a new inquest into the deaths of the Hillsborough 96 started in Warrington, east of Liverpool, on April 1 after the original coroner's verdicts were quashed by the High Court in December 2012 amid claims of a police cover-up.