Heysel 40 years on: Liverpool reflects on tragedy, responsibility, and reconciliation

Forty years after one of football’s darkest chapters, the city of Liverpool is once again confronting the legacy of the Heysel Stadium disaster. On 29 May 1985, 39 people lost their lives and more than 600 were injured when a wall collapsed inside Brussels’ Heysel Stadium before the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus. A surge of violence involving Liverpool supporters triggered the fatal collapse, and the tragedy has since cast a long shadow over the sport and the city.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, who was present at the stadium that day, reflected on the significance of remembering both the victims and the events that led to the disaster. “For our city, it’s an indelible stain,” he said, emphasizing that while poor infrastructure and inadequate policing were major contributing factors, the role some Liverpool fans played cannot be denied. Fourteen of those involved were later convicted of manslaughter and served prison sentences.

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In the immediate aftermath, English clubs were banned from European competitions for five years. But in the decades since, there has been an evolving dialogue around accountability, remembrance, and healing. A club delegation from Liverpool attended a memorial service in Turin, a gesture welcomed by city officials and seen as vital in acknowledging shared grief with Juventus and the wider football community.

Liverpool has also unveiled a new memorial to replace the existing plaque in the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand. The tribute features two scarves—one from each club—knotted together to represent unity and reconciliation. “Forever bound” is the theme guiding this powerful image, according to designer Keith Watson, inspired by archival photographs of fans’ scarves intertwined on the terraces.

Jonathan Bamber, the club’s chief legal and external affairs officer, stated that the new memorial is intended to offer a more meaningful tribute. “It’s always a difficult topic for us as a football club, but it’s also something that we don’t want to shy away from,” he said.