Five of the worst disasters in football history

3. Heysel Stadium Disaster

A tribute to the disaster during a Liverpool v Juventus game

Date: 29th May,1985

Location: Brussels, Belgium

The European Cup final of 1985 sits heavy on the minds of English and Italian football fans. Even before kick-off, Liverpool fans began pelting stones at Juventus fans. This eventually led to the English fans breaching a fence that separated them from a neutral area to charge at the Italian fans.

As a result, Juventus fans attempted to flee from the trouble on to another stand while others backed away onto a concrete retaining wall. Several fans were crushed onto the perimeter wall before it collapsed.

A total of 39 fans, mostly of Juventus, were crushed to death or died out of suffocation while 600 other people were injured. The game was still played despite the disaster and this has drawn attention over the years for being the most insensitive decision to be taken in football.

The disaster resulted in all English clubs being banned from playing in Europe for a period of five years.