© EuroFootball.com
Today, May 29, the whole of European football mourns, because this day is one of the darkest in the history of this most popular sport in the world.
Older football fans still remember the "black" final of the then Champions League (now Champions League) that took place exactly 20 years ago, in which, just like this year, the giants of England and Italy met - the winners of the Champions League this year and the winners of this year's Serie A.
May 29, 1985, as usual in the Champions League - a Wednesday - was truly the darkest day in European football. At the "Heysel" stadium in Belgium (now the Brussels "Roi Baudouin" stadium), a concrete wall collapsed, fatally crushing 38 Italians and one Belgian fan.
It all started with fights caused by Liverpool fans. Fans who wanted to escape from the fighting couldn't do so - they were hindered by a concrete wall. Some fans tried to climb over the wall, others simply tried to escape around it. All of this caused a huge tragedy - the concrete wall collapsed, trapping the fans below.
Ironically, this match in the "Heysel" stadium, built in the 1970s, was supposed to be the last. The stadium was later completely demolished and rebuilt. Except for one element - the gates near the main entrance of the stadium still stand, reminding of the painful tragedy.
Due to such violence and fan behavior, all English clubs were disqualified from all European tournaments for five years, and this disqualification for the Liverpool team lasted for another two years.
By the way, we forgot about one relatively insignificant fact - the match was won by Juventus. The only goal from the penalty spot was scored by the famous Michel Platini.
Photo by Uefa.com: "Riots erupt at the Heysel stadium"
