 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 1984–85 European Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 29 May 1985 | ||||||
| Venue | Heysel Stadium,Brussels | ||||||
| Referee | André Daina (Switzerland) | ||||||
| Attendance | 58,000 | ||||||
←1984 1986 → | |||||||
The1985 European Cup final was anassociation football match betweenLiverpool of England andJuventus of Italy on 29 May 1985 at theHeysel Stadium,Brussels, Belgium. It was the final match of the1984–85 season of theEuropean Cup, Europe's premier cup competition. Liverpool were the reigning champions and were appearing in their fifth final, having won the competition in1977,1978,1981 and1984. Juventus were appearing in their third European Cup final.
Each club needed to progress through four rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with a match at each team's home ground. All but one of Juventus' matches were won by two goals or more; in the semi-finals, they beat French teamBordeaux 3–2on aggregate. Liverpool also won the majority of their matches by more than two goals, except in the second round when they beat Portuguese teamBenfica 3–2 on aggregate.
The match is overshadowed for thedisaster that occurred before the kick-off. Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 people and injuring hundreds. Despite calls for an abandonment, the match went ahead due to authorities and organisers' making a joint decision forpublic policy doctrine reasons[1] after astate of siege in the city was declared.[2] The disaster prompted UEFA to ban English clubs from European football for five years.
Watched by a crowd of 58,000, the first half was goalless. Juventus took the lead in the 56th minute whenMichel Platini scored from a penalty afterGary Gillespie was adjudged to have brought downZbigniew Boniek in the penalty area, although the foul was actually committed nearly ayard outside the area and the referee was far from the action.[3] The score remained the same throughout the remainder of the match and Juventus won 1–0, achieving their first European Cup win and became the first club to havewon all three major European trophies at the time (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and the Cup Winners' Cup).
| Round | Opponents | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ilves | 4–0 (a) | 2–1 (h) | 6–1 |
| 2nd | Grasshopper | 2–0 (h) | 4–2 (a) | 6–2 |
| Quarter-final | Sparta Prague | 3–0 (h) | 0–1 (a) | 3–1 |
| Semi-final | Bordeaux | 3–0 (h) | 0–2 (a) | 3–2 |
Juventus gained entry to the competition by winning the1983–84 Serie A, entering as Italian champions.[4] Their opponents in the first round wereIlves of Finland. The first leg in Finland, held at theRatina Stadion, was won 4–0 by Juventus with a hat-trick byPaolo Rossi and a goal from Michel Platini. They won the second leg 2–1 at their home ground,Stadio Comunale, to win the tie 6–1 on aggregate.[5]
In the second round, Juventus were drawn against Swiss teamGrasshopper. Juventus won the first leg 2–0 in Italy, and achieved a 4–2 victory in the second leg in Switzerland, which meant that they won the tie 6–2 on aggregate.[5] Juventus' opponents in the quarter-finals wereSparta Prague ofCzechoslovakia. Goals fromMarco Tardelli,Paolo Rossi andMassimo Briaschi ensured a 3–0 victory for Juventus in the first leg in Italy. They lost the second leg at Sparta's home ground,Letná stadium 1–0, but progressed to the semi-finals due to a 3–1 aggregate victory.[5]
In the semi-finals, Juventus played French teamBordeaux and won the first leg 3–0 in Italy with goals from Zbigniew Boniek, Briaschi and Platini. The second leg was held at Bordeaux's home ground, theStade Chaban-Delmas. Despite winning the match 2–0, Bordeaux lost 3–2 on aggregate.[5]
| Round | Opponents | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lech Poznań | 1–0 (a) | 4–0 (h) | 5–0 |
| 2nd | Benfica | 3–1 (h) | 0–1 (a) | 3–2 |
| Quarter-final | Austria Wien | 1–1 (a) | 4–1 (h) | 5–2 |
| Semi-final | Panathinaikos | 4–0 (h) | 1–0 (a) | 5–0 |
Liverpool were the reigning European champions; they defeatedRoma to win the1983–84 European Cup, and were also the reigning English champions, having won the English league during thesame season.[6] They were drawn against Polish teamLech Poznań in the first round, and won the first leg at Poznań's home ground,Stadion Lecha, 1–0. Liverpool won the second leg 4–0 with a hat-trick fromJohn Wark and a goal fromPaul Walsh at their home ground,Anfield, to win the tie 5–0 on aggregate.[7]
Liverpool played Portuguese teamBenfica in the second round. Liverpool won the first leg 3–1 in England with a hat-trick byIan Rush. They lost the second leg 1–0 at Benfica's home ground,Estádio da Luz, but still progressed to the quarter-finals due to a 3–2 aggregate victory.[8] Liverpool's opponents in the quarter-finals wereAustria Wien of Austria. The first leg at Wien's home ground, theGerhard Hanappi Stadium, was drawn 1–1, but a 4–1 victory in the second leg in England meant that Liverpool qualified for the semi-finals with a 5–2 aggregate win.[9]
Panathinaikos of Greece were the opposition in the semi-finals. The first leg at Anfield was won 4–0 by Liverpool; Rush scored twice, and Wark andJim Beglin each scored one goal. The second leg was held at theOlympic Stadium and was won 1–0 by Liverpool. Thus, Liverpool won the tie 5–0 on aggregate to progress to their fifth European Cup final and their second in succession.[10]
Juventus were appearing in their third European Cup final, having lost their previous appearances in1973 and1983.[11] Liverpool were appearing in their fifth final, they were the reigning champions after beating Italian teamRoma 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the1984 final finished 1–1. Liverpool had also won the competition in1977,1978 and1981.[11] Since Juventus won the1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup, both teams had to face each other, during the season, in the1984 European Super Cup at Juventus' home ground, theStadio Comunale, due to both clubs experiencing fixture congestion,[12] which was won 2–0 by the Torinese team with two goals from Zbigniew Boniek.[13]
Juventus finished the1984–85 Serie A in fifth position, which was outside of the European qualification positions. In order to participate in European competition in 1985–86, they needed to win the European Cup.[14] Liverpool had finished second behindlocal rivalsEverton in the1984–85 Football League First Division, and thus qualified for theUEFA Cup, but victory in the final would enable them to compete in the European Cup the following season.[15]
The final was to be played at theHeysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. Liverpool had objected to the choice of venue as they were concerned about the condition of the stadium, which was crumbling, and the decision to allocate a neutral section for Belgian fans.[16]
The neutral zone that had been allocated to Belgian fans was largely occupied by Juventus supporters, many of whom lived in Italy and travelled in Belgium only to see the match in the stadium.[17] The neutral zone was in section Z, on the same side of the ground as the Liverpool fans. Thus, the two groups stood yards apart, separated only by chicken wire. At approximately 7 p.m., missiles began to be thrown between the two sets of fans; because the stadium was crumbling, fans could pick stones up and throw them across the divide.[18]
The throwing became more intense as kick-off approached. Moments later, a group of Liverpool fans charged into section Z, causing the fans there to retreat. As they had nowhere to go, they moved towards the side perimeter wall. As more people moved up against the wall, it collapsed,[19] which resulted in 39 deaths and injuries to 600 people.[20] At the other end of the ground, Juventus fans began to riot in retaliation for the events in section Z. They advanced down the pitch towards the Liverpool fans and were stopped by the police. The resulting confrontation lasted two hours and was still going on when the match kicked off.[21] Consequently, theBelgian government declared astate of siege in theCity of Brussels.[2]
The match was delayed for over an hour as a result of the disaster but was played forpublic policy doctrine reasons[1] because officials felt that abandoning the match would result in further violence[22] due to a joint arrangement between theEuropean confederation, theItalian,English andBelgian national associations—the latter being responsible for organising the event—as well as the country'sMinistry of the Interior, thecity's mayor andpolice force[1] despite Juventus' explicit request that the match not be played.[23][24] Two minutes into the match, Liverpool defenderMark Lawrenson was replaced byGary Gillespie after Lawrenson suffered a recurrence of a shoulder injury.[3] Juventus deployed Zbigniew Boniek on the right-hand side of the pitch andMassimo Briaschi on the left. Juventus' plan was to use the pace of Briaschi to threaten Liverpool full-backPhil Neal.[25] Juventus' first chance came in the 30th minute whenAntonio Cabrini, advanced from the left-back position, but his shot was saved by Liverpool goalkeeperBruce Grobbelaar. Liverpool immediately countered –John Wark ran ontoRonnie Whelan's chipped pass, but his shot was saved by Juventus goalkeeperStefano Tacconi. Minutes later, Liverpool had another chance, but Whelan's shot was pushed over the Juventus goal by Tacconi.[25]
Five minutes before half-time, Juventus were awarded a free-kick. Boniek, who had beaten three Liverpool players with a run, was brought down outside the Liverpool penalty area by Wark, who received a yellow card for the foul. The resulting free-kick came to nothing, and at half-time the score was 0–0.[25] Almost immediately after the restart, Liverpool suffered another injury.Paul Walsh stretched to reach a pass from Neal, aggravated a stomach strain and was replaced byCraig Johnston. Juventus were gaining an ascendancy in the match, and in the 56th minute they were awarded a penalty kick. After getting on the end of a Platini long ball,[3] Boniek again went on a run through the centre of the Liverpool defence and was brought down by Gillespie. Liverpool believed that the foul was outside the area, but the Swiss referee, from some 25yards (22.86m.) behind the ball,[25] awarded the penalty.Michel Platini scored the subsequent penalty to give Juventus a 1–0 lead.[3]
Liverpool tried to find a way back into the match. With 16 minutes left, Whelan was brought down in the Juventus penalty area by Massimo Bonini, but the referee decided that it was not a foul. Liverpool created more chances near the end of the match; Tacconi saved a shot from Whelan. Wark andSteve Nicol saw headers go wide of the Juventus goal.[25] No further goals were scored and at full-time the score was 1–0 to Juventus, who had won their first European Cup and became the first club towin all three seasonal UEFA competitions.[26]
         Juventus |      Liverpool |
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Despite being considered, from a sporting point of view, as one of the better European finals played until then,[3] after the match, much discussion centred on the disaster that occurred before kick-off. UEFA was adamant that the Liverpool fans were responsible; UEFA official Gunter Schneider stated, "Only the English fans were responsible. Of that there is no doubt."[27] British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher put pressure onThe Football Association to withdraw English clubs from European competition and two days later, UEFA banned English clubs for "an indeterminate period of time". On 6 June, FIFA extended the ban to worldwide matches, but this was modified a week later to exclude friendly matches and did not affect theEngland national team.[28]
English clubs were banned indefinitely from European competition, with a condition that when the ban was lifted, Liverpool would serve an extra three-year ban.[29] The ban eventually lasted for five years, clubs returning to European competition in the 1990–91 season.[30] Liverpool returned to European competition a season later in the1991–92 UEFA Cup.[31]
it: La città è in stato d'assedio. Per le strade non un'anima viva.[The city is in astate of siege. There is not a living soul on the streets.]
