A bid to separate the trial of two key figures in the Hillsborough disaster have been rejected.
Match commander David Duckenfield and former Sheffield Wednesday secretary Graham Mackrell will appear at Preston Crown Court on January 14.
Mr Mackrell’s lawyers argued that charges over negligence of care and contravening the stadium’s safety certificate should be heard by a seperate court.
But judge Sir Peter Openshaw turned down the 68-year-old’s request on Tuesday.
Both Mackrell and Duckenfield, who faces 95 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence, will enter their pleas at a pre-trial hearing on September 10.
A stay preventing ex-South Yorkshire Police match commander Duckenfield facing public prosecution over the 1989 tragedy was lifted last month.
96 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed at Hillsborough before an FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.