THE tragic story of the Heysel Stadium disaster is a tale which pains any decent Liverpool fan. I flew to Brussels on a charter flight from Speke airport with my dad and his two friends on the morning of May 29th, 1985. I had to employ my keenest negotiating skills to...
WITH the lies, the smears and cruel myths about the Hillsborough disaster exposed once and for all by the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report, those who clung to them out of warped tribalism have but one straw left to clutch. “What about...
I REMEMBER those days like yesterday. That night, my schoolmates and I had to meet at Simone’s house. It had become a sort of custom, as the year before, coming back from a school trip, we had gathered there to watch the European Cup Winners’ cup final Juventus-Porto....
FOLLOWING the tragedy, there was a full inquiry in Belgium – a parliamentary inquiry that was very damning in its criticism of the Belgian authorities. A Belgian architect also carried out a survey of the stadium shortly after May 29 and his criticism of the condition...
ON a sunny Brussels morning, there was a moment that, more than anything that would happen over the ensuing 24 hours, continues to haunt me. Our train had just arrived at Jette station and a long column of Liverpool supporters set off downhill towards the centre of...
THE Heysel Stadium was inspected by Belgian architectural expert Joseph Ange. Called in to assess the state of the stadium which was over 50 years old, he found the terracing “still as it was at the time of its construction”. With the passing of years it was now “in...
MAY 30, 1984. European Cup night in Rome. Liverpool beat Roma on their home ground. In a tense penalty shoot-out, they lift the European Cup for a remarkable fourth time. Liverpool were already League Champions and Milk Cup winners back home, where their reserve side...
THE facts are stark enough. Before the European Cup final, one of the showpieces of world football competition, at the ageing Heysel Stadium in Brussels, on the night of May 29, 1985, Liverpool and Juventius fans clashed in one of the most serious outbreaks of...
THIS is a special Anfield Wrap podcast on the Heysel stadium disaster. Neil Atkinson and Gareth Roberts interviewed Italian author Francesco Caremani, senior lecturer at Manchester University and author Geoff Pearson, football editor of the Times Tony Evans,...
THIRTY years ago this week a group of Liverpool fans repeatedly charged towards supporters in section Z of the Heysel stadium. Inadequate chicken wire fence did nothing to prevent them running free among rival supporters and 12 policemen stationed to keep them apart...
