On this day 29th May 1985 - 39 football fans died at the Heysel stadium in Brussels before our European Cup Final against Juventus. Although many factors contributed to the tragedy, it is inescapable that violence by reds fans played a major role in the deaths of 32 Italians, four Belgians, two Frenchmen and one man from Northern Ireland.
R.I.P. Rocco Acerra (aged 29), Bruno Balli (50), Alfons Bos, Giancarlo Bruschera (21), Andrea Casula (11), Giovanni Casula (44), Nino Cerullo (24), Willy Chielens, Giuseppina Conto (17), Dirk Daenecky, Dionisio Fabbro (51), Jacques François, Eugenio Gagliano (35), Francesco Galli (25), Giancarlo Gonnelli (20), Alberto Guarini (21), Giovacchino Landini (50), Roberto Lorentini (31), Barbara Lusci (58), Franco Martelli (22), Loris Messore (28), Gianni Mastroiaco (20), Sergio Bastino Mazzino (38), Luciano Rocco Papaluca (38), Luigi Pidone (31), Benito Pistolato (50), Patrick Radcliffe, Domenico Ragazzi (44), Antonio Ragnanese (49), Claude Robert, Mario Ronchi (43), Domenico Russo (28), Tarcisio Salvi (49), Gianfranco Sarto (47), Amedeo Giuseppe Spolaore (55), Mario Spanu (41), Tarcisio Venturin (23), Jean Michel Walla, Claudio Zavaroni (28).
The match eventually kicked off late, and was played in a surreal atmosphere, with the reds losing Mark Lawrenson to injury after just two minutes, and then Paul Walsh before half-time. A Michel Platini penalty was the only score, converted after Zbigniew Boniek was brought down by Gary Gillespie outside the box. This was Joe Fagan’s final game in charge and remains our only first-class game on this day in history.