Draw revives memories of Heysel tragedy

The Heysel Stadium disaster took place on May 29, 1985 before the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus.

All but one of the 39 fans who died – almost all of them Italians – were crushed to death when a retaining wall collapsed as Juventus supporters tried to flee marauding Liverpool fans.

There had been criticism before the game after Belgian authorities allocated a section of the ground to neutral fans, which fans of the clubs were able to buy tickets for from touts.

This section was separated from the area set aside for Liverpool fans by a flimsy fence, which was pushed over as supporters rioted after missiles were thrown from the neutral area.

As Juve fans retreated, they were pushed back against the concrete wall at the Western End which eventually collapsed.

Fighting had broken out well before the game, but it went ahead for fear of even worse trouble if it was called off. Michel Platini scored the only goal of a subdued match as Juventus won 1-0 at the ground, which was rebuilt nine years later and re-named as the King Baudouin Stadium.

The Football Association withdrew English clubs from European competition after the disaster, but they were eventually banned for five years by UEFA anyway.

The effect of the expulsion left a lasting legacy on the English game. Between 1977 and 1984 English clubs had been European champions seven times. Since then only one English team have won the European Cup – Manchester United in 1999.

A group of Liverpool fans were finally extradited to Belgium and charged with murder on the basis of police video recordings of the terrace scenes that night.

But after many months of court appearances and difficulties identifying the ringleaders of the trouble, most were released. Those given jail terms went back home, their sentences wiped out by their time on remand.

Stop-gap safety improvements were made to the Heysel Stadium – a largely concrete stadium originally built in the 1930s – in the months afterwards, but until it was rebuilt it was not used again for professional football.

The King Baudouin Stadium hosted matches during the 2000 European championship and hosts Belgium’s home international games.