Heysel Stadium disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans resulted in 39 deaths and some 600 injuries. It occurred on May 29, 1985, during a match between Liverpool FC and Juventus at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. The disaster was blamed on hooliganism, mistakes by officials, and structural issues with the stadium.
The match was the 1985 European Cup Final, featuring Liverpool—the champions of England and European Cup holders—and Juventus—the champions of Italy and holders of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. The two teams were at the height of their powers and had international players in every position. Television viewers across Europe tuned in for a highly anticipated match, but what they saw instead was a slowly unfolding tragedy that formed a terrible backdrop to an increasingly irrelevant game.
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It was treated like any other big final. Tickets were allocated to the two sets of fans, and they were to be separated by a neutral section. Officials from both clubs had warned that many, mainly Belgians, in the neutral section were likely to sell their tickets to partisan fans. There was a history of violence between English and Italian clubs. The 1984 final in Rome had ended in acrimony when Liverpool defeated the local club Roma on penalties. Roma fans, the police, and local hoteliers had all turned on Liverpool fans, who were forced to seek refuge in the British embassy.
Liverpool supporters considered Heysel an opportunity for revenge. The neutral section quickly filled with mainly Italian fans, and all that separated them from the Liverpool section was a flimsy fence. Taunts started, and then objects began to fly. The fence was quickly breached, and the Liverpool fans advanced. Panic erupted as Juventus supporters and others in the neutral section tried to retreat, only to find their way blocked by a concrete wall. The pressure proved too much, and the structure gave way, crushing the trapped Italian fans and others. Ultimately 39 fans were killed—the majority of whom were Italian—and hundreds of other spectators were injured. Fearing mayhem if the match was canceled, Juventus and Liverpool ended up playing, and Juventus won, 1–0.
Blame for the tragedy was partly attributed to Heysel Stadium, which was more than 50 years old. It had failed inspections, and the threat of closure meant that little was spent on maintenance. Another contributing factor was a decision by local police to get unruly fans into the stadium early, rather than arrest them. Hooliganism also played a large role, and English clubs were banned from playing in Europe for five years. In addition, 14 Liverpool fans were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years in prison, though they ultimately only served about 12 months.
