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The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Forty years on from Heysel: The lessons football still needs to learn
The Heysel disaster embodied what were the darkest days of football. Four decades on, there are still lessons to be learned. The catastrophe took place on the game's biggest stage: the 1985 European Cup final, contested between Liverpool and Juventus. On that tragic day in Brussels, 39 fans lost their lives while 600 were left injured after fans were crushed against a wall that collapsed. Abject failures in crowd management and poor stadium design were at the heart of the disaster, as they were for the calamities of Hillsborough and the Valley Parade fire that same decade. Among the three, Heysel is somewhat the forgotten tragedy, despite its seismic short and long-term impact. There was a widespread perception that Liverpool fans were solely responsible, with the crush culminating from crowd disorder sparked by Reds supporters crossing a fence separating them and a neutral stand which contained mostly Juventus fans. Fourteen were later found guilty of manslaughter and jailed. It resulted in English clubs being banned from Europe for five years and fuelled a reputation of English hooliganism that still stands to this day on the continent. Four years later at Hillsborough, where poor crowd management once again devolved into disaster, costing the lives of 97, the fans were blamed once more, almost habitually given the precedent of Heysel. However, the systemic causes of these incidents were yet to be addressed - a problem in fan safety that was being brushed over by simply laying blame at the feet of 'unruly' supporters. After first Heysel and then Hillsborough, learning finally began to flow from catastrophe. 'You get a major disaster like Hillsborough or Bradford, and off the back of that, inquiries get developed - Taylor or Popplewell, for example - and those inquiries then highlight the broader system failure,' said Professor Clifford Stott of Keele University, a specialist in crowds and policing and the co-author of the independent report that delved into the chaotic scenes at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. 'It was very much about unsafe stadia. Those [inquiries] have created an environment where stadium safety has advanced exponentially over the last 40 odd years.' Post-Heysel, there was a recognition that the failings of the authorities and crumbling state of the Heysel stadium were also key factors at play. However, popular understandings continued to point the finger solely at fans - with hooliganism the far more eye-catching topic to both the public and the media. As such, it was crucial that the narrative moved away from simply citing hooliganism as the overarching cause for such tragedies. 'It is completely useless as a narrative to help us to understand the nature of the problem,' Stott adds. 'What we're dealing with isn't hooligans, it's crowd management, crowd dynamics and crowd psychology.' And as the powers at be finally addressed the core issues, what evolved in the decades after were undeniable improvements in fan safety protocols - which were primarily represented in the Saint-Denis Convention. Adopted by the Council of Europe in 2016 before being officially ratified by the UK government seven years later, this effectively set the framework for how major sporting events should be managed. On paper, this was the solution to years of toil over how to make football universally safe, preventing any future disaster or case of crowd mismanagement. A continent-wide legal instrument, it set out to ensure an integrated, multi-agency approach to sporting events that prevents security from ever overruling safety and service, with no single stakeholder - such as the police - able to address an issue by itself. However, this requirement of international police co-operation for each and every event that goes beyond country lines was - and still is - aspirational, idealistic and massively difficult to implement. 'The ideal situation is the policy agreements that were reached in 2016, and they're still not being realised,' Stott said. And as we've seen across the past few years, there have been numerous shortcomings that have not only led to fan safety being put at serious risk, but also the narrative to regress back to blaming supporters. The 2022 Champions League final was the key case failing, which demonstrated that 37 years on from Heysel, the same problems still existed. Poor communication between stakeholders - something that the Saint-Denis Convention acts to weed out - was rife as the Paris police started acting by themselves, leading to Liverpool supporters being funelled into a bottleneck towards an entrance at the Stade de France that was not fit for purpose. Crowds inevitably begun to overwhelm the police as a result, culminating in fans being tear gassed. Ticketless supporters were then blamed for the ordeal by French authorities. 'There was a focus on public order at the expense of public safety,' Stott said, whose independent report found fans were not responsible for crowd problems in Paris. 'There were a lot of parallels between what went wrong at Heysel and what went wrong in Paris. So despite all of that policy development and learning, ironically, we find ourselves in 2022 in a situation that wasn't that distant from 1985.' Paris 2022 was hardly an anomaly, especially in regard to the prioritisation of order over safety, or indeed the blaming of fans. Just this week, unfounded social media speculation over the Liverpool parade crash spiralled out of control, with some baselessly accusing the fans of enraging the driver who ploughed into the crowd, injuring 79. In Wroclaw ahead of the Europa Conference League final, Chelsea fans were blasted with a water cannon by police after disorder broke out. And earlier this season, ahead of Manchester United's Europa League quarter-final first leg with Lyon, the French police once again resorted to tear gas, claiming it was 'proportionate' to restore calm. Of course, these incidents of rogue, excessive policing do not adhere to the Saint-Denis Convention. Part of the problem remains the reputation around English supporters. After all, many of the key case studies detailing recent failings of the Saint-Denis Convention involve Premier League clubs. A stereotype of dangerous hooligans that come across the channel - something that was hugely exacerbated by the events of Heysel - still exists among fans and foreign police. This is despite, as Stott insists, football culture having vastly changed in this country: 'We don't really have the risk groups operating in the way they did in the past - the legislation has gone a long way to removing that threat.' However, there is still a reflex among European states to load up increased force to prepare for the arrival of English fans, which often devolves into a harsh, unjustified and overblown police response which puts supporters at risk. 'The key problem in the European context is risk assessment,' Stott adds. 'That risk assessment is often not very sophisticated. Say you've got a host police force in somewhere like Italy, Greece or Spain. They'll say: 'Are these fans English?' If the answer is yes, they'd see it as a high risk, and then throw loads of policing resources around it that weren't necessary. The English fans travelling weren't actually going there for disorder, but they get treated as if they were. That dynamic would actually precipitate disorder.' This does not reflect the regulated, 'one approach for all' ideal that the Saint-Denis Convention, a ratified piece of legislation that is meant to tick all the boxes when it comes to fan safety, sets out. That's because at the end of the day, seven years on from the agreement, 'aspirational' is still the way the convention is described. 'The policy is there, everybody knows that policy is the way to go,' Stott asserted. 'The problem is delivery - not in its entirety because many events do deliver that. The problem is you get is these sporadic events where that policy isn't adhere to, and there doesn't appear to be any kind of regulatory mechanism to say if you don't deliver, then what's the consequence? If there's no consequence, then these deviations are just going to continue to happen.' For Stott, a huge step towards making the Saint-Denis Convention the norm regards the involvement and control of Uefa. While he notes that the governing body's adoption of the agreement has been the 'driving force' in 'shifting the agenda', the situation could be vastly improved if Uefa took a more hands-on approach to regulating match policing in its competitions. 'Uefa doesn't really control policing,' he said. 'Policing is controlled by the nation states, and those police forces and nation states will at times completely vary away from that agreement. And this is where we have argued, certainly in our report around the handling of the Champions League final in Paris, that Uefa should take more responsibility and more control over the policing of their events. It's their failure to do that which is one of the primary issues that needs to be confronted. 'It's really their failure to oversee the delivery of the safety and security operations in these locations that lies at the heart of the problem. If they took a more proactive role in overseeing that these events were going to be policed in line with these agreements, then we would have safer events. That's what went wrong in Paris, and it continues to go wrong. 'When Manchester United fans ended up getting tear gassed again, Uefa could have stepped into the fray and said 'if this continues to happen in France, your teams aren't going into the Champions League anymore'. It could take this much more assertive position, but it doesn't. We really need a much stronger and more robust regulatory framework to ensure more systematic and coherent delivery of the existing policy.' Football is obviously in a better place than it was 40 years ago. Heysel was one of a handful of tragedies that shook the game and forced change to be made. And while legislation proves that, we are still seeing shortfalls in practice when it comes to the policing of events, especially on the international stage. There is still vast work to be done to ensure the safety of travelling supporters, preventing disorder from once again unravelling into disaster.
Sky News
3 days ago
- General
- Sky News
'The community has stood strong': How Liverpool is trying to heal from trauma at trophy parade
The memorabilia that marks a milestone title - No 20 - is still being snapped up two days on from the Premier League trophy parade. Water Street, where a vehicle struck crowds gathered to celebrate their team's success, was open again today - cleared the detritus of the horror, and the bottles of beer were abandoned in an instant. But Liverpool fans are asking whether a day filled with so much joy can be reclaimed for the euphoria, after scenes of such devastation. "The incident itself, it's obviously ended up very much marring the memory of what should have been a great day," said Neil Atkinson, host of The Anfield Wrap podcast. "There are a lot of different lived realities at once. Those right by the event obviously have theirs. "But as that sort of spreads out, everyone's in a bit of a different place. "So I think in the fullness of time - if everyone involved makes a full recovery, insofar as that's possible because there are other types of scar and not just physical - then I think that people can remember it as a positive occasion." Liverpool has dealt with trauma before at Hillsborough and beyond, when institutions have endangered and failed fans. This feels harder to comprehend - the shock - why the vehicle was driven through a crowd enjoying the most uplifting of days. Shortly before, the Strand nearby had been cloaked in a haze of red smoke that had followed the buses through the 10-mile parade, You'll Never Walk Alone booming out. The song is more than an anthem; it is woven into the club's identity, embodying the bond between fans and the club. Here, it was the soundtrack of celebration. In moments of tragedy, it has been the hymn of resilience amid healing. "The Liverpool community has stood firm," Mr Atkinson said. "Everyone just wants to help and support, and I think the human instinct, first and foremost, when bad things, scary things happen, is that there are people who want to reach out, and I think that is a good, it's a special thing. And the Reds are feeling the outpouring of solidarity, with rivals rallying behind them from far and wide. "I love Liverpool and I think that Liverpool has something about it that's genuinely exceptional," Atkinson said. "But I also love that … I was getting messages from people who aren't even connected to the game, who see this, who want to check that I was all right.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
David Moyes says solidarity across the city makes Liverpool a ‘special' place
Everton manager David Moyes believes solidarity across the city is what makes Liverpool a 'special' place. The Toffees boss, who famously coined the phrase The People's Club when he took over in his first spell at Goodison Park in 2002, has praised the way the community supported each other in the wake of the horrific events of Liverpool's victory parade on Monday. Advertisement A 53-year-old white, British man from West Derby has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drugs after dozens of people were injured by a car on Water Street in the city centre, close to the end of the route. 'One of the things that makes this city special is the solidarity between the people, who always come together in times of hardship,' said Moyes in a statement posted on the club's social media. The 62-year-old Scot, who passed on the best wishes of him and his staff to those affected and praised the emergency services, added: 'We always stand together in the most difficult times.' Both clubs' supporters have a shared history of supporting each other, most notably surrounding the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which killed 97 Liverpool fans. Advertisement Moyes' Liverpool counterpart Arne Slot had offered a similar sentiment in his acceptance of the League Managers Association's manager of the year award. The Dutchman did not attend the event in London 'out of solidarity with all affected' and wrote a letter explaining his thinking. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot chose not to accept his manager of the year award in person out of 'solidarity' with the people affected by events following their victory parade (Nick Potts/PA) 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wider football community, including the LMA itself, the Premier League and many clubs who will be represented, for the support we have received over the last 24 hours,' he said. 'Football is and always should be a game built on rivalry, but it is also a great source of comradeship, especially at times like this.' Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy, a self-confessed Reds fan, said he was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. Advertisement 'I watched it on my phone and it was one of those you wished you didn't watch,' the Wales manager told a press conference. 'It's heartbreaking. To go to what should be an incredible moment – the most successful club in England, equalling 20 titles which was so important – and to see that happen it was incredible. Wales manager and former Liverpool forward Craig Bellamy admits he is still coming to terms with Monday's events (Jacob King/PA) 'Like everyone else I'm trying to absorb it now. Maybe I will do in the next few weeks but at this present moment it is still quite raw for me and still quite sad. 'I'm still trying to come to terms with it myself.' Advertisement Water Street was reopened on Wednesday morning, with all remnants of Monday's incident cleared away with only a few cards and flowers left by the side of the road by well-wishers.
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
David Moyes says solidarity across the city makes Liverpool a ‘special' place
Everton manager David Moyes believes solidarity across the city is what makes Liverpool a 'special' place. The Toffees boss, who famously coined the phrase The People's Club when he took over in his first spell at Goodison Park in 2002, has praised the way the community supported each other in the wake of the horrific events of Liverpool's victory parade on Monday. A 53-year-old white, British man from West Derby has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drugs after dozens of people were injured by a car on Water Street in the city centre, close to the end of the route. 'One of the things that makes this city special is the solidarity between the people, who always come together in times of hardship,' said Moyes in a statement posted on the club's social media. The 62-year-old Scot, who passed on the best wishes of him and his staff to those affected and praised the emergency services, added: 'We always stand together in the most difficult times.' Both clubs' supporters have a shared history of supporting each other, most notably surrounding the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which killed 97 Liverpool fans. Moyes' Liverpool counterpart Arne Slot had offered a similar sentiment in his acceptance of the League Managers Association's manager of the year award. The Dutchman did not attend the event in London 'out of solidarity with all affected' and wrote a letter explaining his thinking. 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wider football community, including the LMA itself, the Premier League and many clubs who will be represented, for the support we have received over the last 24 hours,' he said.'Football is and always should be a game built on rivalry, but it is also a great source of comradeship, especially at times like this.' Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy, a self-confessed Reds fan, said he was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. 'I watched it on my phone and it was one of those you wished you didn't watch,' the Wales manager told a press conference. 'It's heartbreaking. To go to what should be an incredible moment – the most successful club in England, equalling 20 titles which was so important – and to see that happen it was incredible. 'Like everyone else I'm trying to absorb it now. Maybe I will do in the next few weeks but at this present moment it is still quite raw for me and still quite sad. 'I'm still trying to come to terms with it myself.' Water Street was reopened on Wednesday morning, with all remnants of Monday's incident cleared away with only a few cards and flowers left by the side of the road by well-wishers.
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Liverpool's shared adversity helps city 'stand together' after victory parade crash
Liverpool's footballing prowess has made it the most successful club in England, but that wealth of honours has sometimes been tinged by tragedy. Among Monday's crowds at the victory parade that was marred by a car striking supporters, were those who had witnessed the 1989 disaster at Hillsborough football ground in which 97 people died. A decades-long search for justice ensued for the families of the victims. This month, Liverpool announced plans for a new memorial marking 40 years since the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 football supporters died before the European Cup final against Juventus in Brussels. The anniversary falls on Thursday this week. Now the celebration of the 2024/25 Premier League victory – matching Manchester United 's record 20 titles to go alongside the club's eight FA Cups and six European Cups – has been marred by horrific scenes. This week's incident, while not comparable with Heysel or Hillsborough, still sounded echoes of those distressing times. That there were, to date, no fatalities on this occasion was a measure of the emergency services preparation for a massive event, with 750,000 people on the streets to celebrate the latest title win. That meant medics were on hand to look after those injured by the Ford Galaxy that ploughed into the crowd. Police have arrested a white British man, 53, on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving. His ethnicity, released at unparalleled speed by the police, also probably prevented further tragedy after lessons were learnt following last year's stabbings in Southport, a town 30km north of Liverpool, where three young girls were murdered. Social media, which had sparked race riots after misinformation in the Southport attack, was already fomenting blatant untruths about terrorism minutes after the attack. Liverpool's sizeable Muslim community was on edge fearing a backlash before the official message came out. Adversity Liverpool's resilience was also sorely tested in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, when unemployment and economic hardship were rife. But it also created a depth of spirit witnessed in shared adversity that has made the city unique. The strength of character among the city's half million population was instantly recognisable in the compassion and care shown on Monday night. 'Liverpool has always pulled together in a tragedy or a disaster like this,' Peter Scarfe, chairman of the Hillsborough Survivors Supporters Alliance, told The National. Alongside footballing tragedies, incidents such as the killing of three girls at a dance class or a terror attack in the nearby city of Manchester have galvanised its people, he says. 'We've got the lived experience of the aftermath of Hillsborough, Heysel, the Manchester arena attack [in 2017] where we had people from Liverpool killed, and then Southport, the city has just pulled together. We either know someone or we know someone who knows someone affected.' Among those was a woman from his organisation whose father had been injured at Hillsborough. She was at Monday's parade and immediately dropped to her knees to help a man she saw knocked down by the vehicle. 'That's a measure of how many times we've been here as a city and how we pull together and support each other,' he added. No matter what club they came from, whether its Liverpool or Everton, 'everybody will stand' together, said Pat Moloney, a local councillor. 'We've seen this so many times in Liverpool, where there is such a strong local identity and strong support.' The city's 'virtuous circle of success' had, Mr Moloney suggested, led to them being in places that others clubs had not, where calamity could strike. That success, said Mr Scarfe, meant that its fans had experienced both distressing and uplifting moments. 'They know how to deal with it. They also know how to avoid certain situations. It's not wrong place, wrong time, it's just that with success you travel more, achieve more and experience more.' Muslim blame The Muslims among the Hillsborough survivors had feared that the attack was a deliberate act of terrorism that would be blamed on their community. 'We've got members who are from Muslim backgrounds who were there,' said Mr Scarfe. 'The first thing they said to me was, 'I pray that it's not a Muslim' because they would have been blamed for this if the attacker's background had not been released straight away.' That was important as Imam Adam Kelwick, a faith leader from the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool, warned that far-right social media accounts were already making false accusations that the perpetrator was a Muslim, minutes after the attack. He told The National people had contacted him to say they felt 'unsafe', 'isolated and targeted' as the fake news agitators pointed the finger at Muslims. Mr Kelwick, who lived in Sheffield at the time of Hillsborough disaster, was at the parade on Monday and said it was a 'very sad end to what was a happy day". But he cautioned against comparing the two tragedies, out of respect for the fans who were affected by them. For some survivors of those tragedies it still had a triggering effect. John Ashton, a doctor and Liverpool supporter who tended to the injured at Hillsborough, told The National the incident brought back memories of the tragedy. 'I've become very apprehensive about big crowds and I'm very sensitive to when arrangements don't look as robust as they should do,' said Dr Ashton. 'So I was feeling quite triggered on Monday night. I think the people who were at Hillsborough may well have found yesterday particularly difficult.'
