EURO 2000: Italy to pay respects to Heysel stadium victims

June 13, 2000
SportsServer

By Trevor Huggins

GEEL, Belgium - Italy will pay its respects to the 39 fans, most Italians, who died in the 1985 Heysel disaster, laying flowers before its Euro 2000 tie with Belgium in the same Brussels stadium on Wednesday.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said in a statement here on Tuesday that it "could not forget all the Italian fans who were victims of the tragedy of Heysel Stadium, now re-named the King Baudouin Stadium."

The horrific scenes unfurled shortly before the European Cup final when Liverpool fans charged towards Juventus supporters, causing a dividing wall to collapse and a fatal crush to ensue.

An FIGC spokeswoman told AFP that flowers would be laid an hour or so before kick-off in the Group B match by Italian captain Paolo Maldini.

They would be placed before a plaque at the redeveloped stadium which recalls the tragedy.

The statement said: "So many years later, the pain and the emotion remain for the mourning caused by that evening of 1985... when a football stadium was the scene of a tragedy, and where sporting passion and the desire to support a team were cast aside by an insane and uncontrolled explosion of violence.

"The Heysel drama remains a black page for the whole of football," the FIGC said. "Kneeling before the memory of the victims should sustain the clear warning sent from that mourning to the history of sport."

Italy takes on the joint host of Euro 2000 in the stadium, which was also used for the tournament opener between Belgium and Sweden last Saturday.

It will be the first time that Italy's national side has played there since the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 34 Italians, two Belgian fans, two French backers and one English supporter.

The tragedy was also recalled by both Italy coach Dino Zoff and his players after the team's training session here.

Zoff, a former Juventus player and coach, said: "One still has those atrocious scenes in mind.

"I wasn't there, but they're still in my mind and also in those of all Italians who follow sport, and also those who don't."

Maldini said: "Nobody must forget what happened 15 years ago."

Asked who took the initiative for Wednesday evening's tribute, the AC Milan skipper added: "It was the players and the Italian (football) federation. It's our feeling. We don't want the people who died to be forgotten.

"We played (there) with AC Milan in 1990 and we did the same thing."

Alessandro Del Piero, the idol of today's Juventus fans, said: "It's only to be expected that when you talk about that stadium, it means something to everyone involved in sport - and something special for Juventus' players and fans."

And looking ahead to Wednesday's match, he said: "It's undeniable that the memory of such a great tragedy, on a worldwide scale, is going to be there."
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