Juventus won their first European Cup on this day in 1985, but it was overshadowed by the death of 39 fans in the Heysel disaster.
The Bianconeri had beaten Ilves, Grasshopper, Sparta Prague and Bordeaux to set-up a final with reigning champions Liverpool.
The match was to be played in Belgium’s national stadium, Heysel Stadium in Brussels, but the venue was in a state of disrepair and arguably unfit to hold such an event.
Juventus won their first European Cup on this day in 1985, but it was overshadowed by the death of 39 fans in the Heysel disaster.
The Bianconeri had beaten Ilves, Grasshopper, Sparta Prague and Bordeaux to set-up a final with reigning champions Liverpool.
The match was to be played in Belgium’s national stadium, Heysel Stadium in Brussels, but the venue was in a state of disrepair and arguably unfit to hold such an event.
Both clubs were given over 25,000 tickets for the match, with neutral Belgian fans to be housed in section Z, next to the English supporters.
Due to the large Italian expat community in Belgium, as well as ticket touting, the neutral section soon became a de facto Juve area.
Before the match, a group of Liverpool fans broke through the boundary separating them from section Z, with the Juventus fans fleeing toward the perimeter wall.
The result was that supporters were crushed against wall, causing the deaths of 39 fans and a further 600 injuries.
The wall then collapsed, though it’s thought this may actually have saved lives by relieving the deadly pressure.
In retaliation for the events in section Z, Bianconeri supporters from the other end of the stadium began to riot, fighting pitched battles with police and Liverpool fans.
Despite the tragic events in the stands, UEFA and the local police felt that cancelling the match would create an even greater security problem, and the match went ahead.
To this day it’s not clear how much the players of both sides knew about events, with the Juve players stating they knew there had been trouble, but were unaware of any deaths.
The Old Lady won the trophy, winning 1-0 thanks to a Michel Platini penalty, though it hardly mattered given the backdrop to the match.
“I’ve never won the European Cup,” Marco Tardelli, playing in midfield that night, said this year. “That is, I’ve won it but I haven’t… won it. I don’t recognise it.”
English clubs were banned from Europe for the next five seasons, while top officials and 14 Liverpool fans were convicted of manslaughter.
Today at Heysel there is a memorial to commemorate the disaster, as there is at Juventus’ museum and Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium.
"The memory of the victims, taken from their families and loved ones on that ill-fated night, has remained with us constantly for 32 years," Juventus said in a statement today.
"Not a day goes past when we do not feel compelled to remember them and make sure that a similar act of madness must never, ever be repeated."
Liverpool FC today remembers the 39 football fans who lost their lives at Heysel Stadium on this day 32 years ago. pic.twitter.com/8iw8YB7T57
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 29, 2017