Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium Disaster occurred when a wall collapsed in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final. 39 people died, and 600 were injured.
Approximately one hour before the Liverpool-Juventus final was due to kick off, a large group of Liverpool fans were suddenly thought to have breached a fence separating them from rival Juventus fans. The Juventus fans ran back and away from the perceived threat into a concrete retaining wall. Fans already seated near the wall were crushed; eventually the wall collapsed. Many people climbed over to safety, but many others died or were badly injured. The game was played despite the disaster in order to prevent further violence.
The tragedy resulted in all English football clubs being placed under an indefinite ban by UEFA from all European competitions (lifted in 1990-91), with Liverpool F.C. being excluded for an additional year and a number of Liverpool fans prosecuted for manslaughter. The disaster was later described as "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions."[1]
Background
10 years prior, at the 1975 European Cup Final, fans of English club Leeds United had rioted, attacking rival Bayern Munich fans, players, and the match officials. This demonstrated the severity of punishment UEFA were prepared to impose - Leeds were banned for 4 years from all European competition.[2]
In May 1985 Liverpool were the premier football team in Europe, having been European Cup champions in four of the previous eight seasons. Liverpool reached the final again in 1985, and were looking to defend the title that they won by defeating Roma the previous year. Trouble had occurred at the previous season's European Cup final with a number of Liverpool fans being attacked by fans of Roma both before and after the match. Again they would face Italian opposition, Juventus, who were the reigning Cup Winners' Cup holders and had a team comprising many of Italy's 1982 World Cup winning team, plus the mercurial Michel Platini of France, winner of the Ballon d'Or (awarded to European footballer of the year) in 1983, 1984, and 1985.
29 May 1985
Despite its status as Belgium's national stadium, Heysel Stadium was not a suitable venue for a match such as the European Cup Final. The 55-year-old stadium had not been well maintained for several years, and large parts of the stadium were crumbling. Liverpool players and fans later said that they were shocked at the abject conditions of the ground, despite reports from Arsenal fans that the stadium was a "dump" when the Gunners played there a few years earlier. Liverpool CEO Peter Robinson urged UEFA to choose another venue, to no avail.[3]
The stadium was crammed with 58,000–60,000 supporters, with more than 25,000 for each team. The two ends behind the goals comprised all-standing terraces, each end split into three zones. The Juventus end was O, N and M. At the other end Liverpool were allocated X and Y, with the Z section (to one side) being reserved for neutral Belgian fans. The idea of this large neutral area was opposed by both Liverpool and Juventus,[4] as it would provide an opportunity for fans of both clubs to obtain tickets from agencies or from ticket touts outside the ground and thus create a dangerous mix of fans.
At the time Brussels, like the rest of Belgium, already had a large Italian community, and many expatriate Juventus fans bought the section Z tickets.[5] Added to this, many tickets were bought up and sold by travel agents, mainly to Juventus fans. A small percentage of the tickets ended up in the hands of Liverpool fans.
Confrontation
At approximately 7 p.m. local time, an hour before kick-off, the trouble started.[6] The Liverpool and Juventus supporters in sections Y and Z stood merely yards apart. The boundary between the two was marked by temporary chain link fencing and a central thinly-policed no-man's land.[7] Missiles began to be thrown across the divide. Fans could pick up stones from the terraces beneath them.
As kick-off approached, the throwing became more intense. A group of Liverpool fans charged across the terraces, through and over the wire fence into section Z causing the Juventus fans to retreat. Having no way out, the Juventus fans moved towards the side perimeter wall, near to the corner flag. Some tried to climb over the wall to escape. Many escaped, however the wall could not withstand the force of the fleeing Italian supporters and collapsed.
It was at this point that the majority of the deaths occurred — 39 people died, and a further 600 were injured.[7][8] Bodies were carried away on sections of iron fencing and laid in piles outside, covered with giant football flags. As police and medical helicopters flew in, the down-draught blew away the modest coverings.
In retaliation for the events in section Z, Juventus fans then rioted at their end of the stadium. They advanced down the stadium running track towards the Liverpool supporters seeking confrontation, but police intervention stopped the advance. The Juventus fans fought the police with rocks, bottles and missiles for two hours. One even fired a pistol[9] (later verified as being a starting pistol). When the game eventually kicked off, riot police were still fighting a pitched battle with Juventus supporters, and they maintained a presence around the entire pitch for the duration of the game.
Before the main match, a friendly game was played by very young Belgian selection players. By pure coincidence, the teenagers were playing in colours identical to the cup contestants. In their first half, the red Belgian team built a 3-0 lead, to the great pleasure of Liverpool fans who started acting as if the Cup game had already started. When the white selection team scored in the second half, around 19:10, the English and Italian fans were starting to brawl. With several minutes to go, the game was called off and the young players were taken away.[10]
39 victims
39 football fans died in the incident, 32 Italian fans of Juventus FC, 4 Belgians, 2 French people and a Northern Irish man.
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Juventus 1-0 Liverpool
Despite the scale of the disaster, it was felt that abandoning the game would have risked inciting further trouble, and the match eventually kicked off after the captains of both sides spoke to the crowd and appealed for calm.
Juventus won the match 1-0 thanks to a penalty scored by Michel Platini. Lots of discussion came up after the match for his celebration, when such a disaster took place earlier. The penalty was awarded by Swiss referee Daina for a foul against Zbigniew Boniek.[11]
At the end of the game, the Juventus players celebrated their victory in the middle of the pitch and outside. The former Juventus president Giampiero Boniperti recently maintained in his biography to "have ordered the changerooms to be locked and no information should have been leaked inside" since he feared the players could have been assaulted.[12] Consistent statements have been released by Juventus striker Paolo Rossi.
Aftermath
Officially the entire blame for the incident was laid on the fans of Liverpool FC. On 30 May official UEFA observer Gunter Schneider said "Only the English fans were responsible. Of that there is no doubt." UEFA, the organiser of the event, the owners of Heysel Stadium and the Belgian police were never investigated for culpability. There was no official inquiry into the causes of the disaster.[5]
On 31 May, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put pressure upon the FA to withdraw English clubs from European competition,[13] and then two days later UEFA banned English clubs for "an indeterminate period of time". On 6 June FIFA extended the ban to all worldwide matches, but this was modified one week later to allow friendly matches to take place. The ban did not apply to the English national team. English clubs were banned indefinitely from European club competitions with a provision being added that Liverpool would serve a further three year ban after the ban on other English clubs had been lifted.[14] In the event English clubs were banned for five years. Liverpool in the end only served one year of the extra three year ban.
The British police undertook a thorough investigation to bring to justice the perpetrators. Some 17 minutes of film and many still photographs were examined. TV Eye produced an hour-long programme featuring the footage and the British press also published the photographs.
There were 27 arrests on suspicion of manslaughter – the only extraditable offence applicable to events at Heysel. The majority of these people were from Merseyside. Some of these people had previous convictions for football-related violence. In 1989, after a 5-month trial in Belgium, fourteen Liverpool fans were given 3-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter.[15] Half the terms were suspended[16] and it is unclear how many served their sentences.
Heysel Stadium continued to be used for hosting athletics for almost a decade, but no further football matches took place in the old stadium. In 1994, the stadium was demolished and the King Baudouin Stadium built on the site. On 23 August 1995 the new stadium welcomed the return of football to Heysel in the form of a friendly match between Belgium and Germany. It then hosted a major European final on 8 May 1996 when Paris Saint-Germain defeated Rapid Vienna 1–0 to win the Cup Winners Cup.
Players' and supporters' reactions
Several Juventus players and supporters have expressed unhappiness with the way Juventus dealt with the incident, in that they displayed the trophy in their trophy cabinet straight after the game, and did not do enough to help the bereaved families, for example, not having any kind of memorial to the supporters who died.[15]
A number of Liverpool players and fans have criticised the choice of Heysel as a suitable venue, particularly in terms of the ticketing arrangements and small size of the ground, whilst not excusing the actions of those involved in the violence.[3]
Consequences for football in England
The ban from European competition had mixed effects on the game in England. In club football, before the 5-year ban English clubs had been dominant in European competition with 6 European Cup victories, 1977–1982, and again in 1984. Since the ban ended in 1990, English teams have won the tournament three times (1999, 2005, 2008). In the period 1991-1996, no champions of England made either the final group stages of the revised European Cup/UEFA Champions League or the knockout rounds in 1995-1996.
However, English clubs won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1991, 1994 (losing finalists 1995) and 1998, and UEFA Cup in 2001 (losing finalists in 2000 and 2006). Since 1997, English teams have exited the UEFA Champions League eight times at the semifinal stage and eight times at the quarterfinal stage.
English football also produced and retained world-class players during the ban, notably Paul Gascoigne. However, a string of highly rated players also departed from English football during the ban in order to play European football for clubs playing in other domestic leagues, though all of them had returned to the English game within a few years. Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle and Clive Allen ended up playing in the French league, Mark Hughes and Gary Lineker moved to Spain, while Ian Rush spent a year playing in Italy which he said on his return to England was like living in a foreign country.
From 1 May 2008, the English league surpassed La Liga and returned to the top of the UEFA coefficient list, based on performance of English clubs in European competition against rival leagues. This is the first time England has topped the list since the Heysel Disaster and the ban on European competition in 1985. This point can be argued as the quantifiable return of English football to the level just prior to the disaster - a period of 23 years. Further, English sides having reached the final for 5 consecutive seasons between 2004/05 and 08/09 - Liverpool in 2005 and 2007, Arsenal in 2006, Manchester United in 2008 and 2009, and Chelsea in 2008.
Impact on stadia
After Heysel, English clubs began to impose stricter rules intended to make it easier to prevent troublemakers from attending domestic games, with legal provision introduced to exclude troublemakers for 3 months introduced in 1986, and the Football (Offences) Act introduced in 1991.
However, serious progress on legal banning orders preventing foreign travel to matches was arguably not made until the violence involving England fans (mainly involving neo-Nazi groups such as Combat 18) at a match against the Republic of Ireland on 15 February 1995 and violent scenes at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Rioting at UEFA Euro 2000 saw introduction of new legislation and wider use of police powers - by 2004, 2000 banning orders were in place, compared to fewer than 100 before Euro 2000[17][18].
The main reforms to stadia in England did not come until after the Taylor Report resulting from the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 people died in 1989. An example of the new rules is that fans are now often required to become members of clubs in order to apply for game tickets, and closed-circuit cameras have been installed throughout stadia. Fans who misbehave can have their tickets revoked and be legally barred from attending games at any English stadium.
Teams affected by the ban
During the duration of the ban arising from the Heysel disaster, 20 teams missed out on the chance to play in the three European competitions.
Even after the ban was lifted in 1990, English teams had to wait five seasons before earning back all of the European places which they had held before 1985. This affected eight teams, who missed qualification for the UEFA Cup until and including the 1994-95 tournament.
| Season | Club(s) |
|---|---|
| 1990–91 | Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea |
| 1991–92 | Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday |
| 1992–93 | Arsenal, Manchester City |
| 1993–94 | Blackburn Rovers, Queens Park Rangers |
| 1994–95 | Leeds United |
| Club | European Cup | UEFA Cup | Cup Winners' Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 1986-87, 1988–89, 1990–91 | 1985-86, 1987–88 | 1989-90 |
| Everton | 1985-86, 1987–88 | 1988-89 | 1986-87 * |
| Arsenal | 1989-90 | 1986-87*, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1992-93 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1985-86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91 | ||
| Manchester United | 1986-87, 1988–89 | 1985-86 | |
| Chelsea | 1985-86, 1986–87, 1990–91 | ||
| Norwich City | 1985-86, 1987–88, 1989–90 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 1988-89, 1989–90, 1990–91 | ||
| Manchester City | 1992-93 | ||
| Leeds United | 1991-92, 1994-95 | ||
| Southampton | 1985-86 | ||
| Oxford United | 1986-87 | ||
| West Ham United | 1986-87 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1986-87, 1991–92 | ||
| Luton Town | 1988-89 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1988-89 | ||
| Derby County | 1989-90 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 1990-91 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1993-94 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1993-94 | ||
| Coventry City | 1987-88 | ||
| Wimbledon | 1988-89 |
* Everton were eligible to enter either the Cup Winners' Cup or the UEFA Cup for the 1986-87 campaign, Everton had finished runners-up in the First division in 1986 and had also finished runners-up to Liverpool in the FA Cup, because Liverpool had won the First division and FA Cup Everton could therefore enter the Cup Winners' Cup as Liverpool would enter the European Cup. Arsenal could have had Everton's UEFA Cup place for finishing 7th in the table.
Commemorations
During Euro 2000, all the members of the Italian team left flowers on the site, in honour to the dead fans of Juventus.
On 29 May 2005, a £140,000 sculpture was unveiled at the new Heysel stadium, to commemorate the disaster. 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 nations. 39 lights shine, one for each who died that night.[20]
Juventus and Liverpool were drawn together in the quarter-finals of the 2005 Champions League. This match took place 20 years after the Heysel incident and was the first time the clubs faced each other since that time. Before the first leg at Anfield Liverpool fans held up placards to form a banner saying "amicizia" ("friendship" in Italian). Many Juventus fans applauded the gesture, though a significant number chose to turn their backs on it.[21] Many refused to accept the offer of friendship, citing the 20-year gap between the tragedy and commemoration.
British composer Michael Nyman made a piece called "Memorial" which was originally part of a larger work of the same name written in 1985 in memory of the Juventus fans who died at Heysel Stadium.
See also
References
- ^ Quote from UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson in 2004, uefa.com
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2000/apr/07/newsstory.uefa
- ^ a b "LFC Story 1985". Liverpool Official Website. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Night of mayhem in Brussels that will never be forgotten". The Times. London. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ a b
"Liverpool still torn over night that shamed their name". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^
"The Heysel disaster". BBC News. 29 May 2000. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ a b
"Lost lives that saved a sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^
"1985: Fans die in Heysel rioting". BBC News. 29 May 1985. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "The tragedy that dare not speak its name". The Observer. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ [1]
- ^ "The Real King Of France". Article on Goal.com. 8 June 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ Fabio Chisari, "The Cursed Cup": Italian responses to the 1985 Heysel disaster in: Soccer and Disaster - International Perspectives (P. Darby, M. Johnes, and G. Mellor eds.) p. 91Routledge publ. 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Thatcher set to demand FA ban on games in Europe". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "World Notes BRITAIN". Report by Time. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ a b "The witnesses". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^
"Liverpool remembers Heysel". BBC News. 29 May 2000. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/policing13.htm?w46
- ^ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/football-disorder/
- ^ Aston Villa and Manchester United entered Europe
- ^ "Anniversary monument honours Heysel dead". The Times. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Mixed reactions to Heysel homage". BBC News. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
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Further reading
- Routledge (Spring 2002), "For Club and Country: Taking Football Disorder Abroad", Soccer and Society, 3 (1)
- Routledge (Summer 2004), Soccer and Society, 5 (2)
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Routledge (Summer 2004), "English Football Fan Groups in the 1990s: Class, Representation and Fan Power", Soccer and Society, 5 (2)
- Routledge (Summer 2004), "'Heads in the Sand': Football, Politics and Crowd Disasters in Twentieth-Century Britain", Soccer and Society, 5 (2)
- Routledge (Autumn 2004), "Hit and tell: A review essay on the Soccer Hooligan Memoir", Soccer and Society, 5 (3)
- Routledge (January 2006), "'Protect Me From What I Want': Football Fandom, Celebrity Cultures and 'New' Football in England", Soccer and Society, 7 (1)
- Routledge (December 2006), "The Nature and Extent of Football Hooliganism in England and Wales", Soccer and Society, 7 (4)
- Routledge (January 2007), "The Ownership and Control of Elite Club Competition in European Football", Soccer and Society, 8 (1)
- Routledge (January 2007), "This Sporting Life: The Realism of The Football Factory", Soccer and Society, 8 (1)
- Routledge (April 2007), "Football hooliganism as a transnational phenomenon: Past and present analysis: A critique – More specificity and less generality", The International Journal of the History of Sport, 24 (4)
External links
- Heysel Disaster Original reports from The Times
- Heysel Tragedy article on LFC Online
- BBC Sports columnist Alan Hansen - Reds tie evokes Heysel memories
- DoubleBand Films documentary on The Heysel Stadium Disaster
- Football Violence in Europe Paper by the Social Issues Research Centre
- Memorial Italian Fansite Memorial Fansite (In Italian)
- Heysel Disaster
