Liverpool FC to unveil plaque in memory of Juventus fans who died at Heysel

[aiyic]

Right, I'll be controvercial - we've taken far too much flak for this, and without complaint neither. I know it's not being flung at us right at this moment. The fans sadly died because a fucking crusty wall collapsed when Juve fans were pushing against it after a charge by Liverpool fans. It wasn't like they were beaten to death by Liverpool fans - which is the way it's often portrayed by the ignorant.

 

There was a fucking heated atmosphere that was let boil over by incompetence. Yeah, there were Liverpool fans locked out of their minds looking for a row, but there was no fucking infrastructure to handle this. Barely segregated, in an era of hooliganism (though we were not known for it per se) - where Juve fans had running battles with the police.

 

If there wasn't as much security at modern games, there'd easily be a repeat of the violent scenes we saw on the terraces (and on the streets that wasn't seen) from any club, not necassarily another crumbled wall.

 

To younger fans who don't remember it, image there being no fucking police in place in preparation of crowd trouble. The main body of riot-police turned up way too late, like 40 mins or something - a day late and a dollar short. And that stadium was as unsuitable as you could get, even taking into consideration the time.

 

I've probably said too much, but it never gets said.

 

RIP 39

 

PS To this day, Juve are my Italian team. I always hoped that we might play in a black and white barcode strip for our away kit some year, as a footballing mark of respect.

[xerxes]

Right, I'll be controvercial - we've taken far too much flak for this, and without complaint neither. I know it's not being flung at us right at this moment. The fans sadly died because a fucking crusty wall collapsed when Juve fans were pushing against it after a charge by Liverpool fans. It wasn't like they were beaten to death by Liverpool fans - which is the way it's often portrayed by the ignorant.

 

There was a fucking heated atmosphere that was let boil over by incompetence. Yeah, there were Liverpool fans locked out of their minds looking for a row, but there was no fucking infrastructure to handle this. Barely segregated, in an era of hooliganism (though we were not known for it per se) - where Juve fans had running battles with the police.

 

If there wasn't as much security at modern games, there'd easily be a repeat of the violent scenes we saw on the terraces (and on the streets that wasn't seen) from any club, not necassarily another crumbled wall.

 

To younger fans who don't remember it, image there being no fucking police in place in preparation of crowd trouble. The main body of riot-police turned up way too late, like 40 mins or something - a day late and a dollar short. And that stadium was as unsuitable as you could get, even taking into consideration the time.

 

I've probably said too much, but it never gets said.

 

RIP 39

 

PS To this day, Juve are my Italian team. I always hoped that we might play in a black and white barcode strip for our away kit some year, as a footballing mark of respect.

 

A brave post which says little that is wrong.

 

I am a veteran of the era. I didn’t go to Heysel ,although I attended almost all of our Euro aways in the ten years prior to that ,because crowd behaviour had got way out of hand. Nicky Alt’s “The Boys From The Mersey” is authentic and accurate. The Euro ways in particular had become mass robs, with fighting thrown in, it had degenerated into anarchy ,with Heysel a predictable conclusion.

 

There were indeed numerous ingredients, as there were at Hillsborough. The elephant in the room is that if the Club, Uefa , the FA and league had held a proper inquiry, incredibly there was not one, Hillsborough may have been avoided. Instead, appalling crowd behaviour, decaying grounds, authorities that had given up, and clubs that cared little for the welfare of their fans creaked on for a few more years until even more lives were lost in a desperate cocktail.

 

Unless you experienced that era it really is difficult to imagine how it was, although your memorable line “To younger fans who don't remember it, imagine there being no fucking police in place in preparation of crowd trouble” is very apposite. It was never if, just when.