Heysel Stadium disaster, a look back at one of the worst tragedies in the history of football and Belgium

Two top teams

In May 1985, Liverpool FC was considered one of the best football teams in Europe, with four victories in the previous eight editions of the European Cup. They were looking to defend their title from the previous year against AS Roma in the final, but this time they faced Juventus, an Italian team that had already been a losing finalist in the European Cup in 1983 and the winner of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1984. Juventus included most of the Italian squad that had won the 1982 World Cup, as well as two-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini, who was also the reigning European champion.

Earlier that year, in January, Liverpool had lost 2–0 to Juventus in the European Super Cup final in Turin, a single-match format agreed upon by both club presidents.

The rivalry begins, one year earlier…

The previous year, the final between Liverpool FC and AS Roma had taken place at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Liverpool won the title after a penalty shootout. However, after the match, groups of Roma supporters attacked Liverpool fans, forcing them to retreat back to their hotels. Many Liverpool fans were attacked, beaten, and injured.

There was speculation that English hooligans would seek revenge during the 1985 final. Some of the most notorious groups in England — such as Luton’s MIGS, Millwall’s Bushwackers, West Ham’s ICF, and Newcastle’s Gremlins — were rumored to be present.

The night of the tragedy

On Wednesday, May 29, 1985, more than 60,000 people attended the final in a poorly secured and uncomfortable stadium. Thousands of fans without tickets managed to get inside, and Liverpool and Juventus supporters were packed into adjacent sections. Before the match, a youth game triggered tensions and insults between the rival fans.

The situation escalated when a group of Liverpool supporters charged towards the Juventus stand, causing a deadly crush that trampled dozens of people. In total, 39 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured (32 Italians, 4 Belgians, 2 French, and one Northern Irish).

The Belgian police intervened to prevent a direct clash between the Italian and English supporters. Despite the tragedy, the match went ahead and Juventus claimed victory. The trophy was handed to the Italian team in a private ceremony.

Consequences of the tragedy

After reviewing video footage and receiving testimonies, 26 British supporters were charged with “intentional assault and battery with premeditation,” while three Belgians — including two gendarmerie officers responsible for maintaining order, Major Michel Kensier and Captain Johan Mahieu, as well as Albert Roosens, former secretary general of the Belgian FA — were indicted for involuntary manslaughter as perpetrators and co-perpetrators.

The “Heysel trial” opened on October 17, 1988, at the criminal court of Brussels. The verdict came a year later, on April 28, 1989, sentencing 14 British supporters to three years in prison, of which 18 months were suspended, along with fines of 60,000 Belgian francs (€1,487). Eleven other supporters were acquitted, mostly due to lack of evidence.

Roosens was sentenced to six months suspended prison and a fine of 30,000 Belgian francs (€744), Mahieu to nine months suspended prison and the same fine, while Kensier was acquitted. UEFA’s secretary general Hans Bangerter was also sentenced, in appeal in 1990, to three months suspended prison and a fine of 30,000 Belgian francs. Appeals by civil parties were dismissed in October 1991.

Compensation, amounting to about 250 million Belgian francs (€6.2 million), was divided between the State (42.5 %), the Belgian FA (42.5 %), and UEFA (15 %).

The authorities responsible were heavily condemned by the Belgian courts for allowing the match to take place in such an outdated stadium.

UEFA introduced strict new regulations, including mandatory all-seater stadiums, and banned all English clubs from European competitions for three years. Liverpool was initially banned for ten years, a sanction later reduced to six.

Since then, Heysel Stadium has been renovated and renamed King Baudouin Stadium.