Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Liverpool FC Remembers Hysel
On the 27th anniversary of Heysel Liverpool FC's website posted this...
Managing director Ian Ayre left a floral tribute at the foot of the Heysel Memorial Plaque in the Centenary Stand this morning.
The tragedy unfolded on May 29, 1985, at the European Cup final
between Liverpool and Juventus, when what should have been one of the
greatest nights in the club's [2] history turned into a nightmare.
Instead of leaving Brussels having seen our team lift a fifth European Cup [3], Liverpool supporters travelled back to England having witnessed [4] the deaths of 39 football supporters including 32 Italian fans of Juventus, four Belgians, two from France and one man from Northern Ireland.
Let's read between the lines.
[1] It was purely the wall collapsing which caused these deaths.
[2] Those Italians dying really ruined our night.
[3] Those Italians dying stopped us winning the trophy.
[4] Witnessed as in 'had nothing to do with the deaths, our fans just watched on in horror'.
It is bad enough that as far as I can discover (happy to be corrected) Liverpool FC has never apologised for its fans' part in these deaths but to have an anniversary message which so twists history is a disgrace.
I have to put on record a vested interest. I am an Everton fan, and what happened at Heysel led directly to ALL English clubs being banned from Europe at a time when it was generally agreed that Everton were the best team in Europe. A week or so before Heysel I had seen Everton win the Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam. It was a night, following a day, of sheer joy. The fans mixed (I was in a mixed area) with no trouble at all.
I would happily give up every match that Everton have ever won to bring back the lives of those who died. Football is not worth it. Sadly that is not possible so all I am trying to do here is ask Liverpool FC to stand up and be counted and stop hiding from the truth.
Liverpool Football Club today remembers the 39
football fans who died when a wall collapsed [1] at the Heysel Stadium in
Belgium on this day 27 years ago.
Instead of leaving Brussels having seen our team lift a fifth European Cup [3], Liverpool supporters travelled back to England having witnessed [4] the deaths of 39 football supporters including 32 Italian fans of Juventus, four Belgians, two from France and one man from Northern Ireland.
Let's read between the lines.
[1] It was purely the wall collapsing which caused these deaths.
[2] Those Italians dying really ruined our night.
[3] Those Italians dying stopped us winning the trophy.
[4] Witnessed as in 'had nothing to do with the deaths, our fans just watched on in horror'.
It is bad enough that as far as I can discover (happy to be corrected) Liverpool FC has never apologised for its fans' part in these deaths but to have an anniversary message which so twists history is a disgrace.
I have to put on record a vested interest. I am an Everton fan, and what happened at Heysel led directly to ALL English clubs being banned from Europe at a time when it was generally agreed that Everton were the best team in Europe. A week or so before Heysel I had seen Everton win the Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam. It was a night, following a day, of sheer joy. The fans mixed (I was in a mixed area) with no trouble at all.
I would happily give up every match that Everton have ever won to bring back the lives of those who died. Football is not worth it. Sadly that is not possible so all I am trying to do here is ask Liverpool FC to stand up and be counted and stop hiding from the truth.
