Gareth O'Callaghan: How violence and racism drove me away from football – and still keeps others out

One terrifying night of football violence in 1985 left lasting scars — and shows why racism in sport still thrives

We watched in shock as gangs of Millwall supporters climbed over the fences and scrambled onto the pitch.

Age is measured not so much in years as in the memories that time preserves, and how those memories impact our lives.

I was in Luton recently for the funeral of a friend who I first met while working in England in the 1980s. The BBC had chosen Luton for its headquarters of a new regional radio station that launched in 1985, and I was chosen to head up the breakfast show.