Heysel Stadium disaster

Coordinates: 50°53′42″N 4°20′2″E / 50.89500°N 4.33389°E / 50.89500; 4.33389
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Heysel Stadium disaster
Date29 May 1985; 38 years ago (1985-05-29)
VenueHeysel Stadium
LocationBrussels, Belgium
Coordinates50°53′45″N 4°20′3″E / 50.89583°N 4.33417°E / 50.89583; 4.33417
CauseRiot
Filmed byEuropean Broadcasting Union
ParticipantsSupporters of Liverpool and Juventus
OutcomeEnglish clubs banned from European competition for five years; Liverpool for six years
Deaths39
Non-fatal injuries600
Arrests34
ConvictedSeveral top officials, police captain Johan Mahieu, and 14 Liverpool fans convicted of manslaughter

The Heysel Stadium disaster (German pronunciation: [ˈɦɛizəl]; French pronunciation: ​[ɛizɛl]; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɛizəl]; German: Katastrophe von Heysel; French: Drame du Heysel; Dutch: Heizeldrama; Italian: Tragedia dell'Heysel or Strage dell'Heysel) was a human stampede that occurred on 25 May 1985, when Juventus fans escaping from a breach by Liverpool fans were pressed against a collapsing wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final. 39 people were killed and 600 were injured in the confrontation.[1]

The tragedy resulted in all English football clubs being banned indefinitely by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) from all European competitions (lifted in 1990–91), with Liverpool being excluded for an additional three years. The Liverpool ban would later be reduced from 3 years to 1 year.[2] 14 Liverpool fans would be found guilty of manslaughter and each sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The disaster was later described as "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions".[3]

Deaths[change | change source]

Of the 39 people killed, 32 were Italian (including two minors), four Belgian, two French, and one from Northern Ireland.[4][5][6]

  • Italy Rocco Acerra, 29
  • Italy Bruno Balli, 50
  • Belgium Alfons Bos, 35[7]
  • Italy Giancarlo Bruschera, 21
  • Italy Andrea Casula, 11
  • Italy Giovanni Casula, 44
  • Italy Nino Cerullo, 24
  • Belgium Willy Chielens, 41
  • Italy Giuseppina Conti, 17
  • Belgium Dirk Daeninckx, 38
  • Italy Dionisio Fabbro, 51
  • France Jacques François, 45[8]
  • Italy Eugenio Gagliano, 35
  • Italy Francesco Galli, 24
  • Italy Giancarlo Gonnelli, 20
  • Italy Alberto Guarini, 21
  • Italy Giovacchino Landini, 50
  • Italy Roberto Lorentini, 31
  • Italy Barbara Lusci, 58
  • Italy Franco Martelli, 22
  • Italy Loris Messore, 28
  • Italy Gianni Mastroiaco, 20
  • Italy Sergio Bastino Mazzino, 38
  • Italy Luciano Rocco Papaluca, 38
  • Italy Luigi Pidone, 31
  • Italy Benito Pistolato, 50
  • Northern Ireland Patrick Radcliffe, 38[9]
  • Italy Domenico Ragazzi, 44
  • Italy Antonio Ragnanese, 49
  • France Claude Robert, 27[7]
  • Italy Mario Ronchi, 43
  • Italy Domenico Russo, 28
  • Italy Tarcisio Salvi, 49
  • Italy Gianfranco Sarto, 47
  • Italy Amedeo Giuseppe Spolaore, 55
  • Italy Mario Spanu, 41
  • Italy Tarcisio Venturin, 23
  • Belgium Jean Michel Walla, 32
  • Italy Claudio Zavaroni, 28

References[change | change source]

  1. "Heysel: Liverpool and Juventus remember disaster that claimed 39 lives". Daily Mirror. 29 May 2012.
  2. "Heysel, 27 Years On – Book Extract | The Tomkins Times | News, Opinion, Statistics and Discussion about Liverpool FC Football Club". The Tomkins Times. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  3. Quote from UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson in 2004, uefa.com
  4. "Heysel stadium disaster film is planned". BBC News. 17 May 2011.
  5. The 39 victims who died at Heysel Stadium -liverpooldailypost.co.uk
  6. "Le 39 Vittime della Strage". associazionefamiliarivittimeheysel.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Jean-Philippe Leclaire (2005-05-18). Le Heysel: Une tragédie européenne. ISBN 9782702146842. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  8. "Il y a trente-deux ans, des Chapellois frappés par le drame du Heysel". lavoixdunord.fr (in French). 2 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  9. "Remembering Belfast man Patrick Radcliffe who died in Heysel tragedy". Belfast Telegraph. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2018.

Other websites[change | change source]

50°53′42″N 4°20′2″E / 50.89500°N 4.33389°E / 50.89500; 4.33389