Heysel 30 years on

Just watched an interview with the German who was supposed to commentate on the match. He said that the trouble came from the Liverpool fans and not the Italians, but also heavily criticised UEFA, the stadium, the lack of the police, and the fact that the police lost control. German TV disagreed with the decision to play the game, and so stopped broadcasting just after kick-off. In retrospect he felt that the decision to play the game was correct, as he feels that if not, the violence could have gotten worse, and at least there was then a break between what happened before and fans leaving the stadium.

 

please log in to view this image

In Memoria e Amicizia, in Memory and Friendship:

Rocco Acerra
Bruno Balli
Alfons Bos
Giancarlo Bruschera
Andrea Casula
Giovanni Casula
Nino Cerullo
Willy Chielens
Giuseppina Conti
Dirk Daenecky
Dionisio Fabbro
Jacques François
Eugenio Gagliano
Francesco Galli
Giancarlo Gonnelli
Alberto Guarini
Giovacchino Landini
Roberto Lorentini
Barbara Lusci
Franco Martelli
Loris Messore
Gianni Mastrolaco
Sergio Bastino Mazzino
Luciano Rocco Papaluca
Luigi Pidone
Bento Pistolato
Patrick Radcliffe
Domenico Ragazzi
Antonio Ragnanese
Claude Robert
Mario Ronchi
Domenico Russo
Tarcisio Salvi
Gianfranco Sarto
Giuseppe Spalaore
Mario Spanu
Tarcisio Venturin
Jean Michel Walla
Claudio Zavaroni

please log in to view this image

 

Yes. Everything in the OP is correct. It really was six of one and half a dozen of the other. The state of the ****hole had a massive bearing on what happened, but I'd never condone some of the behaviour I witnessed from fans of BOTH clubs.

 

Fair enough, must of been horrible to be there though. Again, RIP the 39.

 

It isn't one of my happiest football moments.

God rest their souls.

 

Shocking from the fans (both sets), animalistic idiots.
I, unlike some, refuse to let the actions of a handful of idiots tarnish my opinion of an entire fanbase.
I am glad in a way that football, for the most part, has moved away from its hooligan era.
But even more shocking from UEFA that they allowed the game to be played at this stadium in the first place.
The stadium, by all accounts, was a delipidated wreck, and UEFA really should have chosen a much better (and safer) venue to host the final of their Premier tournament. Shocking decision and planning.

 

Of course they should, but they didn't. Seems some didn't learn from that horrendous ****ing mistake.

 

RIP

 

Kind of ironic that Juve should be one of the teams involved in this year's CL final 30 years after the event. I wonder if there will be any kind of reflection on the event prior or during the match. The least will be the wearing of black armbands. The second irony will be the meeting again of Evra and Suarez. Now that they are at clubs where there is no animosity between them, I feel they will kiss and make-up!!

 

Today at Anfield - As a mark of respect to those who died, the club's chaplain, Bill Bygroves, held a private memorial service this morning at Anfield.
A floral tribute was placed by Phil Neal, Liverpool captain at the time of the disaster, at the foot of the Heysel memorial plaque in the Centenary Stand.
Juventus sporting director Gianluca Pessotto and former player Massimo Bonini also laid 39 white lilies at the memorial, one for each life lost.

RIP 39 fans who's lives were lost needlessly and deep regret and respect to all their families and loved ones -

 

This evening in Italy, representatives from Liverpool, including club ambassador Ian Rush, will attend a mass at Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio Church in Turin, having been invited by Juventus to pay their respects.

Neal said: "It was an honour for me to lay a wreath at the Heysel memorial today in remembrance of those who lost their lives.
"What happened at Heysel will always be with me and everybody else who was there on that terrible day - we will never forget."

Ian Ayre, Liverpool's chief executive officer, added: "Today marks 30 years since the tragedy at the Heysel Stadium.
"This is - and always will be - a hugely important day in the history of Liverpool Football Club. We continue to remember those who lost their lives and everyone who has been impacted by the disaster. "I thank Juventus Football Club for inviting us to attend their mass in Turin and for their ongoing friendship."

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/185961-lfc-marks-30th-anniversary-of-heysel

 

Very respectful and in stark contrast to Mark Lawrenson's interview in the Telegraph.

 

Not sure which one you mean. I just read this - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-Juventus-minimal-reaction-prolongs-hurt.html - a bit long, but there's a few quotes from Lawrenson in it. Neither club knew how to react but I'm more surprised by Juventus keeping it low key than us, as the guilty party you'd expect that from our side.

 

Yep that's the one i referred to jb, my point was at a time of respect the author of the piece pats Lawrenson on the back for actually being the only Liverpool player to talk about the awful night in detail.

 

I've read that and I've no idea what part of it is disrespectful, it's a good piece (assuming we're talking about the same one)

 

I never said Lawrenson was disrespectful, I pointed out the graphic nature of his part in the article.

I'm not trying to airbrush the deaths of 39 innocents out of existence I just feel that the article could have been posted before or after the day of the actual anniversary.

No doubt you'll come up with the opposite view but respect to the dead should be top of the list today.

Imho

 

Yes I noticed that. I don't like his headline either. The family groups, [much like the HFSG] have come out and said they don't want public services and want to maintain a quiet dignity, you have to respect that.

 

I think the piece is fair and the points it makes are valid and accurate. Personally I don't see what difference it makes which day it was published. The descriptions of what happened are merely factual explanations of the reality of what happened that day.

We'll agree to disagree I think.

 

I remember Lord Justice Goldring saying after his appointment to the new Hillsborough inquests that the media and social media could find themselves in contempt of court if they post/print any prejudicial material relating to Hillsborough?


"But Liverpool's uncertain position on Heysel was made doubly vexed by Hillsborough. The two disasters, while polar opposites in terms of the Liverpool supporters' role at each, can no longer exist in isolation. Emotionally, the outrage that the club attracted in 1985 and the agonies that it experienced in 1989 might be fiendishly difficult to reconcile, but there are historical connections. As Foot puts it: "A Belgian government fell over Heysel. It was a huge political scandal. It was also a major turning point for British football. Put Heysel and Hillsborough together, and consider the ban, and this was the moment that football changed."

There are voices in Italy that go much further. Caremani, who has been sharply critical in his published work of Liverpool's limp-wristedness in the wake of Heysel, makes the incendiary contention that 96 deaths at Hillsborough could never have occurred if the lessons of 1985 had been properly absorbed. "From 1985 to 1989, the English were only angry about being banned from Europe," he says. "Heysel and Hillsborough had three important similarities: the disorganisation of the authorities, the behaviour of the police, and the fact that innocent people died. If the English had understood Heysel, Hillsborough today would only be the name of a stadium, not of a disaster."

That's a spit in the eye for Goldring then.

 

I never thought you said Lawro was disrespectful, I took it you meant the journalist!