Heysel Stadium disaster: Darkest day in Belgian football history commemorated
The Heysel stadium disaster, the biggest tragedy in Belgian football history, wascommemorated on Thursday. Exactly 40 years ago, 39 people died and 600 were injured in the crowd in the stands of the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, now known as the King Baudouin Stadium.
"The final of the century”: That's how people talked about the 1985 European Cup final between title holders Liverpool and Italian powerhouse Juventus, the two best European teams at the time.
On 29 May, 60,000 people were expected at Brussels' Heysel Stadium, which was already very outdated for an important event such as the European Cup final. What should have been a football celebration turned into a tragedy.
© PHOTO DOMINIQUE FAGET / AFP
Just before the start of the match, violent riots broke out between supporters when Liverpool fans stormed the neutral section filled with Juventus supporters. A total of 39 people died, mostly Italians, and more than 600 were injured.
The stadium was completely renovated in the 1990s and renamed the King Baudouin Stadium. An international match was played there for the first time after the tragedy in 1995. Today, the stadium is still used for matches of Belgium's national football team, the finals of the Belgian Cup and the Memorial Van Damme athletics event.
Opposite the stadium is a memorial to the victims of the disaster and the names of the 39 people who died are displayed on the wall of the main stand.
A commemorative event was held in the stadium on Thursday in the presence of the mayor of the city of Brussels Philippe Close and the ambassadors of Italy and Great Britain. The names of the 39 victims were read aloud by Gianluca Pessotto, a former Juventus player who now has a managerial role at the club, before a minute's silence was observed.
Gianluca Pessotto during a commemoration of the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / BELGA VIDEO JEROME FETU
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