Heysel Stadium disaster, tragedy at an association football match on May 29, 1985, at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that resulted in 39 deaths and 400 injuries. However, UEFA refused to consider a move. He concluded that the deaths were "Attributable very, very largely to the appalling state of [the] stadium. Something to initiate a conversation and to just talk about Heysel again.". VideoRescuers search wreckage of deadly Greece train crash, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [43] Throughout the ban, England's points were kept in the ranking until they would have naturally been replaced. Juve people need to accept this or else the hate and violence that we see on the Italian terraces will never go, until they too, have their own karmic retribution. It's not something that's spoken about here, and may well be discussed more frequently in Turin. In Memoria e Amicizia, in Memory and Friendship / RIP - Youll Never Walk Alone. "But for Juventus fans, feelings run pretty deep and it's split down the middle between those who are happy to move on and those who are still angry, as you saw at the 2005 game at Anfield. The day of the match was brilliant, sunny, people enjoying themselves, a lot of people drinking. The Heysel Stadium disaster (Italian: Strage dell'Heysel [strade delleizl]; German: Katastrophe von Heysel [katastof fn hazl]; French: Drame du Heysel [dam dy zl]; Dutch: Heizeldrama [izldrama]) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by Liverpool fans were pressed against a collapsing . Reference to Heysel is, however, harder to find. . The news started to filter out through the ground that people had been killed. He ran across and stabbed a {Liverpool} man sitting on a fence. In December 1985, FIFA announced that English clubs were also free to play friendly games in Europe, though the Belgian government banned any English clubs playing in their country. On 31 May 1985, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher asked The Football Association (the FA) to withdraw English clubs from European competition before they were banned,[42] but two days later, UEFA banned English clubs for "an indeterminate period of time." Juventus had a team of many of Italy's 1982 World Cup winning team, which played for Juventus for many years, and its playmaker, Michel Platini, was considered the best footballer in Europe and was named Footballer of The Year by the magazine France Football for the second year in a row in December 1984. They included Jacques Georges, the former president of UEFA; Hans Bangerter, former UEFA general secretary; former Brussels Mayor Herve Brouhon; and Viviane Baro, a former Brussels councillor for sports. The police were split into civic, district and state police which wasnt right. ONLY four Liverpool fans made the journey to Brussels yesterday for. We were able then to put certain questions to them in interview. Incomprehensibly, UEFA demanded the game go ahead while the bodies of the dead were still being counted. Heysel memorial at the LFC museum at Anfield. Check out our collection of images as several Liverpool players arrived in Austria on Sunday for the start of pre-season. It was very repetitive. The disaster at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels took place ahead of the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus on May 29, 1985. Welsh clubs playing in the English league system, who could qualify for the European Cup Winners' Cup via the Welsh Cup, were unaffected by the ban. Liverpool are the enemy number 1. Before the first leg at Anfield, Liverpool fans held up placards to form a banner saying "amicizia" ("friendship" in Italian). Some men who worked for me were unhappy with the outcome and short sentences. As they fled the threat, the fans were crushed together in a section of terrace hemmed in by a concrete retaining wall, which eventually collapsed. While some say American-made cars aren't as reliable as Japanese cars, others suggest that some foreign cars, such as German vehicles, are more prone to issues or more expensive to fix than domestic cars.. David Duckenfield retrial. There were chaotic scenes for maybe two hours but, honest to God, no one around me thought there were any fatalities and if we had any idea we would have walked out. BY MARK GODFREY. why do liverpool fans never mention heysel. Remaining outside the top three of the coefficient rankings, England retained its three UEFA Cup berths instead of four. While some of these typecasts may hold some truth, it is vital . Six people are facing charges over Britain's worst ever sporting disaster. And civil damages estimated at more than 5million were provisionally awarded to families of the Heysel victims against the convicted fans and the BFU. Its not a hatred of Liverpool fans, its more a dislike. Four years later, 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives after a fatal crush during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium. "But as we are seeing now, we are finally getting to the truth [at the new Hillsborough inquests]. So what legacy did the investigation leave? Leeds United missed out in 199495 and initially 199596, though they qualified for the latter via the new UEFA Fair Play ranking, which at the time gave their three top-ranking associations' highest-placed team who've not already qualified for Europe a UEFA Cup spot. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. He was pulling injured people out. Police over there have that reputation. Policing wasnt good enough on every level. 39 people, mostly fans of Juventus, lost their lives during the incident with a further 600 injured, which has had a substantial impact on European football. I remember bringing in officers who could speak different languages. But has the Heysel disaster 30 years ago become the game's forgotten tragedy? The names of the fans killed . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In February 2014, an exhibition in Turin was dedicated both to the Heysel tragedy and Superga air disaster. Mr Oxford sent for me and I was suddenly saddled with carrying out an investigation which had happened in a foreign country.. "I think with Hillsborough and Bradford there has been a sense of unfinished business and justice that needs to be addressed. They showed up with dictionaries and translated everything word for word. There were a lot of Italians in the neutral zone. There's a lot that still needs to be done. and Liverpool fans too young to have seen it, or . Thirty-nine people died in the tragedy before the 1985 European Cup Final between Juventus and Liverpool. Serious progress on legal banning orders preventing foreign travel to matches was arguably not made until the violence involving England fans (allegedly mainly involving neo-Nazi groups, such as Combat 18) at a match against Ireland on 15 February 1995 and violent scenes at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. They forced their way through the police line which was ineffectual. Collective hysteria generated by the massive invasion of the pitch by journalists and fans at the end of the match[29] and the chants of fans of both teams in the stands[30] all made some Italian club players celebrate the title in the middle of the pitch among them and in front of their fans in the M section, and some Liverpool players applauded their fans between the X and Z sections, the stadium's section affected. I felt really sorry for the people who got there a bit late and were taken through the entrance where the wall had collapsed and bodies were piled up. The Heysel Stadium itself continued to be used for some matches of the Belgium national team until 1990, when UEFA banned Belgium from hosting a European final until at least 2000. The UK was out of the question as the alleged offences had taken place abroad. In 1991, another memorial monument for the 39 victims of the disaster, was inaugurated in Reggio Emilia, the hometown of the victim Claudio Zavaroni, in front of Stadio Mirabello: every year the committee "Per non dimenticare Heysel" (In order not to forget Heysel) holds a ceremony on 29 May with relatives of the victims, representatives of Juventus, survivors and various supporters clubs from various football clubs, including Inter Milan, Milan AC, Reggiana and Torino. You were thinking Somethings not right. [18] The police allowed Liverpool's bus to drive directly onto the tarmac at Brussels Airport in hopes of avoiding a confrontation at the terminal. "It was a tragedy that happened in a foreign land.". For the 198586 UEFA Cup, the Soviet Union, France, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands were granted an additional spot each, while in 198687, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, France, and East Germany were the recipients. Heysel tragedy 39 people were killed in the wild riots that broke out before the Champions Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool on May 29 in 1985. For 199394, Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers would have qualified. [31], Liverpool players only realised the extent of the tragedy when they boarded their bus at a Brussels hotel to go to the airport, when a crowd of Juventus supporters surrounded the bus. The monument includes an epitaph written by Torinese journalist Giovanni Arpino. The fans, all from Liverpool, also were fined $1,538 each. Eventually the Liverpool fans charged towards the Juventus fans, the boundary between Section X and Z broke down, and the few police persons stationed at the divide were overpowered. Though the England national team was not subjected to any bans, English club sides were banned indefinitely from European club competitions, with Liverpool being provisionally subject to a further three years suspension as well. 'The Heysel ban wasn't really about football, it was an attack on working-class culture'. New inquests into the disaster are probing allegations of a complex series of failures by the authorities on the day. The two ends behind the goals comprised all-standing terraces, each end split into three zones. 1985: English teams banned after Heysel. Despite its status as Belgium's national stadium, Heysel Stadium was in a poor state of repair by the 1985 European Final. Correction 2 August 2016: This story has been amended following a complaint that was upheld by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit. They were ashamed. The Juventus end was O, N, and M, and the Liverpool end was X, Y, and Z, as deemed by the Belgian court after the disaster. . Since 2001 to 2017 it has been situated in front of the club's headquarters in Corso Galileo Ferraris and since then in Juventus Headquarter.[49]. The 198788 season saw Portugal, Austria, and Sweden gain an additional place, with Sweden and Yugoslavia gaining the places for the 198889 competition. "We had the best football team in the world and this was a stab in the heart for the city. Thirty-nine peoplemostly Italians and Juventus fanswere killed and 600 were injured in the confrontation. In 1985, a memorial was presented to the victims at the Juventus headquarters in Piazza Crimea, Turin. This was the first time anyone had done anything like this. Some people actually got quite excited seeing themselves on film and identified themselves. 14/09/12 - 01:38 #24. May 29, 1985 is remembered as one of the darkest days of modern football, as that is the date that the Heysel Stadium disaster occurred before Liverpool met Juventus in the final of the European . Justice was doubly served on Liverpool and a picture of the Juve "fan" with a gun would balance some memories of the time. [32][33].mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}. Liverpool FC's planned victory parade on Sunday has stirred unease for a representative of victims of the Heysel stadium disaster as it coincides with the 37th anniversary of the tragedy. After an arduous five months in court a further 10 Reds supporters were found not guilty, two Belgian officials were found guilty of criminal negligence while UEFA was cleared much to the anger of the grieving families. I wish wholeheartedly we will never have to face court again and that soccer will only bring family entertainment from now on, Georges said. By this point England's coefficient was no longer directly affected by the ban due to it being outside of the five-year window, their coefficient continued to be affected by years of under-representation in the competition. It started sinking in what had happened. Tickets were readily available there. It wasnt good enough. The difference is Heysel was a shit stadium and 39 people died because of what the Liverpool fans did, charging at the Juve fans. Some 39 fans lost their lives and about 600 others were injured 32 of those who died were from Italy, four from Belgium, two from France and one from Northern Ireland. Mahieu had told the court it was the first time he had policed a football match. fechar. Dr Rogan Taylor, a lecturer in football studies at the University of Liverpool, said a complex set of feelings surrounded the disaster because people were ashamed to face up to the uncomfortable reality of hooliganism. Mr Sergeant said: We got statements from Belgian police all in foreign languages Dutch, Flemish, French. There is a small memorial plaque dedicated to the victims inside Liverpool's club museum, with the shirt worn by Kenny Dalglish on the night draped alongside. We eventually identified 28-30 people we wanted to interview. Read about our approach to external linking. [16], Of the 39 people killed, 32 were Italian (including two minors), four Belgian, two French, and one from Northern Ireland. The fire that ripped through a rickety wooden stand at Bradford, claiming 56 lives, and the terrible events at Hillsborough left a murky stain on the game and those who governed it, leading to many changes. Reds fan Peter Hooton, lead singer of The Farm, was at Heysel. The circumstances of exactly what happened that day have been pored over for 26 years now, largely thanks to a campaign for truth waged by the bereaved families of the victims. The chicken wire fence was ripped down and after initial fighting, the fans in the neutral section began to run away from the Liverpool fans who had become involved and in the direction of the wall. We then interviewed them. The youngest fan who died was 11-years-old. The monument is a sundial designed by French artist Patrick Rimoux and includes Italian and Belgian stone and the poem "Funeral Blues" by Englishman W.H.Auden to symbolise the sorrow of the three countries. On 30 May, official UEFA observer Gunter Schneider said, "Only the English fans were responsible. 2023 BBC. Seven of the 14 were given three year prison terms and the other seven suspended three-year sentences. "I think when Hillsborough happened, they just thought it was another Heysel," he said. But the club cannot forget it.". Missiles were thrown from one side to the other. I dont play football to see 39 people dead in the stadium this is not my philosophy of football, he said. "The feeling in the city was one of desperate, desperate shame and depression," he said. # Crime and Punishment. There was so much space as people had already run across {the divide}. Some fans managed to climb over to safety, but many others died or were badly injured. At 7 p.m., right before the start of the match, a group of Liverpool fans, drunk from a day spent at the bars in Brussels, charged after a group of Juventus fans. Then there were the people who said the stadium should have been in better condition. On one infamous occasion at Goodison Park in 2008, the away fans responded by singing "2-0 to . That meant the Juventus fans had more sections than the Liverpool fans with the Z section, which was nominally reserved for neutrals. Together, we will remember the 39 lives that were lost and all those affected.. 400 people got injured in the tragedy in Brussels. Brussels. Now aged 71 he recounts how he set about the onerous task of investigating the deaths of 39 foreign football fans at a match hundreds of miles away. In retaliation for the events in Section Z, many Juventus fans rioted at their end of the stadium. TV Eye produced an hour-long programme featuring the footage while British newspapers published the photographs. [8], The tragedy resulted in all English football clubs being placed under an indefinite ban by Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) from all European competitions (lifted in 199091), with Liverpool being excluded for an additional two years, later reduced to one,[9][10][11] and 14 Liverpool fans were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. 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