As the match is about to begin, tensions are running high between Liverpool and
Juventus football fans at the Heysel stadium. A group of English fans has just breached the
fence dividing them from Italian supporters. The police cannot restrain the charging Juventus fans,
and within moments, the situation is out of control. A wall collapses, hundreds of fans
start falling over each other and are trampled. The Heysel Stadium Disaster became known as
one of the darkest chapters in sporting history. It was supposed to be the game of the season - the
European Champions Cup final. The elite football competition is also known as the UEFA Champions
League. The two best clubs competing for the title - Liverpool F.C from England
and Juventus F.C from Turin in Italy - met at the Heysel stadium in Brussels for the match.
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let's get back to Heysel Stadium. Football, also known as Soccer in other
parts of the world, is undoubtedly the most popular sport in Europe. The game originates
from England and is also known for its specific fan culture. However, among the fans hides the
dark side of the sport, Football Hooliganism. Football Hooliganism has deep roots, starting
in the 1980s. The decade was one of the most turbulent and violent periods in the country’s
history. The economy’s decline caused many of the problems. Violence was everywhere. The conflict in
Northern Ireland and the rise of Neo-Nazi groups only contributed to the increase of aggressiveness
in society. Football games were just a catalyst for the rebellion to be expressed.
Street brawls between fans were common in England at the time. The 1985 FA Cup
semi-final match between Liverpool and their bitter rivals Manchester United caused some of
the worst violence the country had ever seen. Before that, Liverpool fans were involved in
another incident during the European Champions Cup finals against the Italian team, AC Roma.
The match that took place in Rome was marked by severe clashes between the fans of the two clubs.
Roma fans even stabbed one English fan with a stiletto. Then came Heysel.
It was May 29, 1985. The capital of Belgium, Brussels, welcomed fans from England and Italy.
Interest in the match was high, and the city's streets were swarming with fans drinking, singing,
and having a good time. In the early afternoon, a river of people poured toward the Heysel Stadium.
The organizer of the match, the Belgian Football Association, was aware of the dangers it could
bring. The memory of the last year's finals was fresh, and everyone wanted to avoid trouble.
At the stadium, fans were allotted behind-the-goal stands, each on the opposite end of the stadium.
Juventus fans occupied sections M, N, and O, while Liverpool supporters were placed in sections X and
Y. The rest, including the controversial section Z, right next to Liverpool fans, were reserved for
other visitors. The problem was that most of these visitors in section Z were Juventus supporters.
However, these were not hard-core fans but Italian families living and working in Belgium.
Nevertheless, their presence on the stands provoked the Liverpool fans.
At 7. P.M., one hour before the kick-off, Liverpool fans from section Y
started throwing objects and flares at Juventus supporters in section Z.
The situation worsened as Liverpool fans approached the temporary fence erected to separate
two zones. At one point, a group crossed the fence and charged the Juventus supporters. Police
lined up between the two couldn’t stop them. Truth be told, the situation was nothing compared
to violent scenes typical for English football matches. It was just a bit of toing and froing.
Still, the reputation of English fans frightened the Juventus supporters, who began to withdraw
down the stands in panic. A crowd of a couple of hundred spectators huddled at lower stands,
pushing each other toward the 90-centimeters-tall (3 ft) perimeter wall. Unfortunately, the wall
was in such poor condition that it couldn’t withstand the pressure of so many people.
Heysel stadium was opened in 1930, and in 1985 was in an awful state, primarily because it was
poorly maintained. The entire stadium structure was worn out and definitively not suitable to
house that many visitors. Finally, the perimeter wall at section Z gave in under pressure from
the Juventus fans and collapsed. In an instance, an avalanche began.
People were falling from the stands, crushing and trampling each other,
a horrific scene emerging. Many Liverpool fans weren’t aware that the tragedy was happening
just a few meters away. However, on the other side of the stadium, Juventus fans saw it all.
The medical staff at Heysel stadium comprised only one doctor and 150 Red Cross volunteers.
They were tending to the injured right on the stadium ground while victims were recovered from
the pile of bodies below the stands. Juventus’ medical team members jumped in to help, but that
was still not enough to treat all those injured. The entire stadium was in a state of shock.
If strong police reinforcements hadn’t stopped Juventus’ enraged fans, the Heysel disaster might
have had an even deadlier outcome since the fans on the opposite side reacted at what they saw.
The Liverpool and Juventus captains also played a significant role in calming down the situation
as they appealed to the fans not to make things worse than they were.
Players of both teams were severely distressed. No one felt like playing,
even with the title of European Champion at stake. But, quite surprisingly, match organizers
decided to go ahead. They believed that if the match were canceled or postponed, it would have
caused discontent among fans, resulting in riots in the stadium and the streets of Brussels.
The match began with more than 90 minutes of delay in a surreal atmosphere.
Players were running across the pitch, while on one side of the stadium,
the police still struggled to hold the Juventus fans within their stand, and on the other end,
medics were still treating the injured. It took a long time to clear the ground from fallen bodies,
during which many victims died from suffocation. In the end, 39 people lost their lives,
32 of them Italian, including the youngest victim - an eleven-year-old boy. There were also four
Belgians, two French, and one Briton who died. Six hundred visitors ended up with non-fatal injuries.
Juventus defeated Liverpool one-nill at full-time, winning their first-ever European Champions title.
There was little for Juventus players and fans to celebrate, though.
The Heysel final was the darkest chapter in the history of the club.
The chaos continued after the match when Juventus’ fans attacked the Liverpool team bus with players
inside. Police escorted the bus to the team’s plane on the tarmac of the Brussels airport.
Meanwhile, their fans also did their best to leave the town as quickly as possible.
The tragedy led to an onslaught of outrage towards Liverpool
supporters. Media across Europe solely blamed what
they inappropriately described as “English murderers,” “Assassins,” and “Red Animals.”
UEFA, the crown football association in Europe and organizers of the league,
shared the same view. A day after the final, they made an official statement blaming
only Liverpool fans for the tragedy. However, although some Liverpool supporters charged the
Juventus fans that caused the stampede, other factors contributed to the tragedy as well.
The football association was to be blamed for allowing the Belgians to host the match at Heysel,
an inappropriate stadium, in the first place. It was old, neglected, and had a dilapidated
structure. The day after the tragedy, the Deputy Chief of the London Fire Brigade,
Gerry Clarkson, was sent to inspect the stadium. He found several deficiencies,
including the piers on the wall that collapsed to be built the wrong way round. He concluded that
the condition of the stadium was “beyond belief.” These facts were known before the match.
Both Juventus and Liverpool had asked UEFA officials to change the match venue. In addition,
they asked for a more appropriate stadium for the number of fans expected to attend. However,
not only did UEFA officials deny their request, but they also failed to carry out a proper
inspection of the stadium. As revealed later, the official examination lasted merely half an hour.
The Belgian Football Association additionally failed to meet the expectations of organizing
a match that was labeled as a high-risk event. Liverpool officials objected that
Juventus supporters were allowed to fill section Z right next to Liverpool fans stands. They also
objected that the number of police officers at the stands and the feeble protective barrier between
the two sections were utterly inadequate. Aware of their fans’ nature, they knew this meant trouble.
But, most importantly, the deal was for section Z to be allotted to Liverpool fans. The Belgians
simply changed their mind before the game and put up the section tickets for unrestricted sale.
What the Belgian police failed to do, was to assign more men in the buffer zone between
sections Z and Y. Once the Liverpool fans breached the fence, there were too few policemen
on the stands, leaving them powerless in stopping them. Furthermore, the police captain assigned to
control the Z section had no previous experience in policing football matches. All in all,
the general handling of the situation and the communication between the police and the match
organizers were far below the necessary level. The Heysel tragedy consequences were crucial for
football development in Europe. UEFA quickly punished the English clubs by setting up an
indefinite ban on continental competitions. The ban was later limited to five years,
with one extra year for Liverpool F.C. Before the association imposed the ban,
the English Football Association withdrew all its clubs from European competitions. The British
Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, decided to take drastic measures in “the War Against
Hooliganism.” Radical legislative changes resulted in the exile of hooligans from English stadiums.
Twenty-six people were arrested after the Heysel tragedy and, in September 1987, extradited to
Belgium. The trial started on April 18, 1988, and ended one year later. Fourteen Liverpool fans
were found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison for the manslaughter of 39 people.
Police Captain Johan Mahieu, responsible for the Z section, was given a nine-month suspended
sentence. In contrast, Secretary-General of the Belgian Football Association, Albert Roosens, was
sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence, both of them for the offense of criminal negligence.
The Heysel stadium was shut down immediately after the tragedy. After being completely rebuilt,
it was reopened in 1995 under a new name - King Baudouin Stadium. However, older
generations of football fans still remember it as Heysel, the venue where football died in 1985.
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