1985: English Soccer's Year of Blood

The Kenilworth Road Riot

March 4, 1985: A Football League Cup Semifinal (the tournament then known as the Milk Cup, since it was sponsored by Britain's milk board) is won by North-East club Sunderland AFC over Chelsea FC, at Chelsea's West London home of Stamford Bridge. But Chelsea fans, unhappy with the result, run riot. A fight breaks out between their hooligan "firms," the Chelsea Headhunters and the Seaburn Casuals.

This is the first of several incidents that will mark 1985 as the worst calendar year in the history of English soccer. At the time, Chelsea were not known as a good team, and were infamous for the Headhunters, and Stamford Bridge was a known recruiting ground for the far-right National Front.

As we've seen more recently, with their "racist, and that's the way we like it" behavior on the Paris Metro, on-field success hasn't tamed the Chelsea animals. They remain an ugly club with despicable fans.

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March 13, 1985: A Football Association Cup Quarterfinal match is held at Kenilworth Road Stadium, in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Host Luton Town FC defeat South London club Millwall FC. And then the real story begins.

Millwall were already known for having the nastiest fans in Britain, not just England. Their home ground, The Den, on the aptly-named Cold Blow Lane, was considered the most dangerous away ground in the League. Their firm, the Bushwackers, not only beat up innocent home fans, but tore seats out, and threw them onto the field. They even started fires in the stands, which were quickly put out before they got out of control.

Millwall's manager at the time was former Arsenal FC star George Graham. He couldn't control the Millwall fans, but he did well enough there that Arsenal called him back to become their manager a year later. In 9 years with the club, he led them to 6 trophies, including 2 League titles. Luton's manager was David Pleat, who would become the next manager at Arsenal's North London arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur FC -- with much less savory results, both competitively and personally. (Pleat had to resign as manager due to a sex scandal.)

The Kenilworth Road Riot was the most disgraceful display ever captured on TV or film at a British soccer game. For a few years by this point, many stadiums had "perimeter fencing" to prevent pitch invasions. The idea was, if they're going to behave like animals, we're going to put them in a cage. Arsenal's stadium, known as Highbury for its North London neighborhood, was one of the few major stadiums that didn't have it. As a result, the privilege it had long enjoyed, of hosting the always-neutral-site FA Cup Semifinals was taken away.

As John Motson, the BBC's announcer for the Luton-Millwall match, said, "This is what British football has got to contend with now." But things would get worse before they got better.

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May 6, 1985: Everton FC, the blue club on Merseyside, beat West London team Queens Park Rangers, 2–0 in front of over 50,000 at Goodison Park in Liverpool, and clinch the Football League Division One championship, for the first time since 1970. Howard Kendall was a star player on that team, and was now their manager.

With the great goalkeeper Neville Southall; renowned defenders in Derek Mountfield, team Captain Kevin Ratcliffe, Gary Stevens and Pat Van Den Hauwe; midfielders Paul Bracewell, Peter Reid, Kevin Sheedy and Trevor Steven; and forwards Andy Gray, later one of the game's top broadcasters, and Graeme Sharp, Everton had perhaps the best team in their history.

Goodison Park was on the opposite side of Liverpool's Stanley Park from Anfield, home stadium of Liverpool FC, making the "Reds" and Everton's "Toffees" among the closest rivals in sports. The stadiums were 17 miles from the "border" between England and Wales, and both are very popular in Wales. As a result, both teams had a significant Welsh presence. In Everton's case at the time, that meant Southall, Ratcliffe and Van Den Hauwe.

Liverpool, as a city, is also a terminus on a ferry with Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. And both teams have had some fine Irish players: In the case of 1985 Everton, Sheedy. Like Liverpool, Everton also had a noted Scottish contingent, with Gray and Sharpe.

Everton put together a streak of 28 consecutives games unbeaten in all competitions, which came to an end 5 days later. But something much worse would happen in English soccer on May 11.

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May 11, 1985: Bradford City Association Football Club, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, hosts their last home game of the season at their stadium, Valley Parade. It turns into a disaster -- and not the kind of disaster their fans would have considered a 4-0 defeat to be.

Unlike American sports teams, English "football" "clubs" tended to keep their old stadiums for as long as possible. This was a bad idea, since many of them still had wood in their construction, and fans liked to smoke, and drop their cigarettes.

On this day, at Valley Parade, which opened in 1886 and had hardly been modernized at all since, Bradford, in England's Football League Division Three, were playing Lincoln City, of Lincolnshire. This game is the most interesting thing that has ever happened to the "Imps." Bradford, the "Bantams," should be so lucky: They had won Division Three that season, earning promotion to Division Two, and nobody outside Bradford remembers that. And their only major trophy is the 1911 FA Cup, and that's so far back that nobody remembers that, either.

The match was covered by British network ITV, so the key moments survive without a film crew arriving in mid-disaster. At 3:40 PM, ITV commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand. In less than 4 minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats.

In the panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch, but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape. Many were burned to death at the turnstile gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. A total of 56 people died, making it the biggest disaster in the history of English football to that point. (This was topped in Scotland by the 66 who died at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow in 1971, and would be surpassed by the 97 deaths that have now been attributed to the Hillsborough Disaster in Sheffield in 1989.)

Helm reported that he could feel the heat, from all the way across the stadium. As he put it, "Quite extraordinary scenes at Valley Parade. This was supposed to be a day of utter joy, triumph and celebration. It's turning into a nightmare."

There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery.

Nevertheless, a bad year for English soccer -- which had already seen several notorious incidents of hooliganism, including a riot of Millwall fans at Luton Town 2 months earlier -- got even worse. On the same day as the Valley Parade fire, Birmingham City's promotion from the Second Division was marred by a riot by Leeds United fans, in which a 14-year-old spectator was crushed to death by a collapsing wall.

Both clubs were then known for their infamous hooligan firms: Leeds had the Leeds Service Crew, while Birmingham City had the Zulu Army -- named in tribute to the 1964 film that launched Michael Caine to stardom, but also because it was the first widely-known hooligan firm to have been racially integrated.

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May 15, 1985: Having already won the Football League title, Everton win the European Cup Winners' Cup, defeating Rapid Vienna 3-1 at Feijenoord Stadium (a.k.a. De Kuip, "the Bathtub") in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Toffees qualified for the tournament by winning the previous season's FA Cup, a 2-0 win over Hertfordshire team Watford FC.

They are underdoing the most remarkable season in their history, and they still have a big game to go.

May 18, 1985: Everton lose the FA Cup Final, 1-0 to Manchester United at the original Wembley Stadium in West London. The game was scoreless after the full 90 minutes, but United's Norman Whiteside scored in extra time, the 110th minute. United thus deny Everton "The Double," winning both the League and the Cup.

United Captain Bryan Robson received the Cup from the President of the Football Association, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

What Evertonians, players and fans alike, don't yet know is that what should be the greatest era in the club's history is about to get short-circuited. Because of the Heysel ban that I'm going to get to in a moment, they are prevented from defending the Cup Winners' Cup. They wouldn't have done so anyway, since, as League Champions, they would've been entered into the European Cup, but they will be banned from playing in that, too, through no fault of their own.

They are the unluckiest club in English football, having also won the League in 1915 and 1939, and being unable to defend those titles since the game was subsequently suspended for the World Wars. They also won the League in 1891, 1928, 1932, 1963 and 1970. They would finish 2nd in 1986 and win the League again in 1987, but with the Heysel ban still in effect, they wouldn't enter the next season's European Cup, either. They won the FA Cup in 1906, 1933, 1966 and 1984, and would do so again in 1995. That win remains their last major trophy. In 2025, they closed Goodison Park, having played there since 1892, and are moving into a new stadium, at Bramley-Moore Dock on the River Mersey.

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May 29, 1985: The European Cup Final is held at the Heysel Stadium, the national stadium of Belgium in Brussels. It should not have been played there. And, while pregame ceremonies were already underway, it should have been canceled.

In the 1983-84 season, Liverpool FC, a power in English football for the preceding 20 years, won the Football League, and also the European Cup -- the competitions now known as the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, respectively. Winning either one would have qualified them for the 1984-85 European Cup.

But the 1984 Final was tainted. The Finals are set for neutral sites, much like American football's Super Bowls, but that year's final was set for the Stadio Olimpico in Rome -- and one of that stadium's teams, A.S. Roma, advanced to the Final.

Liverpool beat them, but not before their fans were attacked by Roma thugs, many of them doing not drive-by shootings, but drive-by slashings, riding those little Italian motor scooters past anyone who looked English, and reaching out with switchblade knives.

So when the 1985 European Cup Final turned out to be Liverpool against another Italian team, Turin-based Juventus FC, the Scouse fans were ready for it.

The game was played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, which was in bad shape and unfit to host such an important event. I've talked to Arsenal fans who were there for the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, where they lost to Spanish club Valencia CF, and they said it was in bad shape then.

Each team, at the time, was the most hated in the country. Sure, they were the most successful, and that attracted gloryhunters ("frontrunners," as we would say in America), as with American sports teams like the New York Yankees and the football team at the University of Notre Dame; but also many people who were sick of these teams' successes.

A common saying in Italy is, "Amo il calcio, quindi odio Il Juve" -- "I love football, therefore I hate Juventus." Fans of the Rome teams, A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio -- and fans of the Milan teams, A.C. Milan and Internazionale Milano -- will even support their arch-rivals against Juventus. It's called gufare, meaning "to support against": A Milan fan won't support Inter, but he will support against Juve.

Likewise, many English fans' "second team" became Everton, Liverpool's neighbor; or Manchester United, Liverpool's most frequent challenger for national honors. When United finally surpassed Liverpool's record total of League titles, with their 19th in 2011, many celebrated the fact that United had, as their manager Sir Alex Ferguson had said he would do, "knocked Liverpool off their fucking perch." ("Perch" because Liverpool's symbol is a bird, a "Liverbird." United won a 20th title in 2013. Liverpool won a 19th in 2020 and a 20th this year.)

So, for the 1985 European Cup Final, there were millions of people in the British Isles rooting for Liverpool, but also millions of others rooting for Juventus. Likewise, there were millions in Italy rooting for Juventus, but also millions rooting for Liverpool. And the memory of the fan clashes prior to the previous year's Final was still fresh in everyone's memories.

Normally, before a football match, to avoid a pregame "off" between opposing sets of fans, barriers are put up to keep each teams' fans in their own separate sections. This time, however, there was a neutral zone, ostensibly set aside for locals and neutrals, and there was no barrier between them and the Juventus fans, and no barrier between them and the Liverpool fans. As it turned out, it was mostly Juventus fans who occupied it.

At around 7:00 PM local time, a group of Liverpool fans ran toward them. Had the Juve fans stood their ground and fought, many of them might have gotten hurt, but it wouldn't have been as bad as what actually happened.

Instead, they ran, and many of them crashed into a wall, which collapsed. People and chunks of concrete fell onto people below, and 39 people died, and over 600 others were hurt.

The aftermath

At the other end of the stadium, Juventus fans began to riot in retaliation for the events in section Z. They stormed the pitch towards the Liverpool fans, and were stopped by the police. It took 2 hours to clear the field, meaning the game started over an hour late. 

Officials from UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, went into each team's locker room, and informed them of the disaster. Officials from both teams recommended that the game be canceled, as playing would be considered disrespectful to the dead. The Royal Belgian Football Association, responsible for staging the event, won the argument by saying that things might get worse between the sets of fans if the game were called off.

The respective team Captains, Liverpool right back Phil Neal and Juventus sweeper Gaetano Scirea, were given microphones to talk to their fans, and plead for calm. Over the years, Neal stuck by his belief that the game should have been called off.

The field was cleared, and the game kicked off at 8:15 PM, Central European Time -- 7:15 PM in Liverpool and the rest of the British Isles, 2:15 on the U.S. East Coast.Each team was in its traditional uniform: Liverpool in all red, Juventus in their black and white stripes, the Mersey Reds vs. the Bianconeri. Both teams were a bit subdued, not really wanting to play, and there were few highlights in the 1st half.

In the 56th minute, Juve's Polish striker, Zbigniew Boniek, was brought down on the edge of the penalty area by centreback Gary Gillespie, who wasn't even supposed to play, but came on as a substitute when Mark Lawrenson was hurt early in the game. Liverpool protested that the foul was outside the penalty area. André Daina, the Swiss referee, awarded the penalty anyway. It was taken by midfielder Michel Platini (despite his Italian roots, he was born and raised in France), and Juve were up 1-0.

In the 74th minute, Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan was brought down in the penalty area by midfielder Massimo Bonini. This time, Daina did not award a penalty. Questionable decisions like these gave rise to the belief, already long present in Italy and maintained to this day, that Juventus cheat, that they buy off referees. They are known as I Ladri: The Thieves.

There were chances for Liverpool the rest of the way, but nothing came of them. Juventus won. Platini took the European Cup. Fans all over Italy declared to it be a Coppa de Sangue: Cup of Blood, won practically on the dead bodies of their own fans.

Michel Platini and the Cup of Blood

Liverpool had previously won it in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984, but this was Juve's 1st. They would win another in 1996, without the tragic circumstances, but have generally had bad luck in the tournament: Despite a record 36 Serie A titles, they are 2-7 in European Cup/Champions League Finals, including including 0-5 since the 1996 win. And this includes the 2003 Final, when they became the 1st team ever to lose the Final to a team from their own country, A.C. Milan. (That game was not played in Italy: It was played at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.) No team has lost more CL Finals.

UEFA had previously banned individual English clubs from playing in their various competitions, at first indefinitely, and then limiting it. This had happened to North London team Tottenham Hotspur after the 1974 UEFA Cup Final in Rotterdam, the Netherlands against Rotterdam club Feyenoord. It had also happened to Leeds United after the 1975 European Cup Final in Paris against Bayern Munich.

Both English clubs lost the games in question, and both had their bans lifted after 2 years. This time, instead of just sanctioning the team involved, UEFA banned all English clubs for 5 years, and tacked on an additional year for Liverpool.

This was punishment far beyond the offense: What did any other English club have to do with this? Were they blaming all English clubs for what one club did -- which it didn't actually do?

What did the British government do about this insult? Led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, they actually supported the decision. The Iron Lady (more like the Iron Bitch) hated sports, and particularly viewed football club supporters as undereducated, manners-lacking scum -- and likely to vote for her opponents in the Labour Party, rather than her own Conservative Party, anyway.

For this reason, football-mad areas such as Merseyside (home to Liverpool and Everton), Manchester, Birmingham (home to Birmingham City and Aston Villa), the North-East (home to Newcastle United, Sunderland and Middlesbrough), and the cities of Scotland and Wales still tend to vote Labour: Because of a backlash against Thatcher that has lasted 40 years, and has not abated since her death.

By this point, even English liberals were angry at Liverpool, blaming them for their clubs not being able to compete in the European Cup (then a tournament for the defending champions of the various countries' national leagues), or the UEFA Cup (for other high-placing teams), or the European Cup Winners' Cup (competed by the winners of the previous season's various national cups like the FA Cup).

The overreaction was staggering. True, 39 fans had died, but not one died as a result of a direct attack by one person on another. Contrary to what fans of teams that hate Liverpool still claim, the Liverpool fans were not, as opposing fans, especially of Manchester United, claim, "murderers."

An unexpected side effect was that Glasgow-based Rangers FC realized that the ban applied only to English clubs, not to British clubs or to English players. They signed several English players by offering them a chance to keep playing in Europe, and hoped that this would allow them to dominate the Scottish League over the next few years, and to win European tournaments.

They signed Ipswich Town centreback Terry Butcher, Tottenham centreback Graham Roberts, Everton's right back Gary Stevens and midfielder Trevor Steven, and former Nottingham Forest forward Trevor Francis and former Chelsea and Man United midfielder Ray Wilkins. (The latter two had gone to Italy in the interim, to keep playing in Europe.)

Results: They won the Scottish League in 1987, 1989 and 1990; and the League Cup in 1988 and 1989. However, they did not win the Scottish Cup. More to the point, they didn't win a European trophy during the Heysel ban. The closest they came was the Quarterfinals of the 1988 European Cup.

Between the Heysel ban (which wasn't entirely Liverpool fans' fault) and Liverpool's perennial success (in 1986 they won the Double), pretty much anybody who wasn't already a Liverpool fan hated Liverpool's guts. (In other words, they were then what Manchester United would become.) When the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster occurred in 1989, causing the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, some fans finally found sympathy with them -- but some doubled down on their hatred of the Mersey Reds, saying they got what they deserved, especially after Heysel.

Relations between Liverpool and Juventus have been cordial since, and the teams have played both European tournament games and friendlies (exhibition games), with some of the proceeds being donated to the families of the victims of Heysel and Hillsborough. This included a Champions League Quarterfinal on April 5, 2005, at Liverpool's home of Anfield, when a plaque was dedicated. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup that time, and in 2019, they made it 6 wins, more than any other British team.

Left to right: Phil Neal, Michel Platini, Ian Rush

Heysel Stadium was demolished in 1990. In 1995, the new King Baudouin Stadium was built on the site. It seats a little over 50,000 people.

It hosts matches for the Belgium national team, and hosted 5 games in the Euro 2000 tournament. As yet, however, it has not hosted the Final of any European tournament.

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August 4, 1985: The Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. Tom Seaver was the winning pitcher for the White Sox. For the former New York Mets star, it was 300th win of his career, and a lot of Met fans were among the 54,032 fans in attendance.

It was Phil Rizzuto Day, as the Yankees honored their beloved shortstop-turned-broadcaster, and that's why I, 15 years old at the time, was there. I sat in the right field boxes, with a good view not only of mound, the batter's box, and Seaver combining the two to show his famed pinpoint control; but also of the right-field bleachers, where the Met fans and the Yankee fans, not separated (as is usually the case in North American sports), got into a fight. Everybody else in the stands seemed to cheer them on.

The security guards managed to break it up, and about 50 fans were ejected. I don't know how many were arrested. I don't think any were hospitalized.

In American baseball, in any era, such a fight in the stands was considered a disgrace. In English soccer, in 1985, it would have been considered just another matchday.

In the 1990s, the rise of better security, including closed-circuit cameras, and all-seater stadiums made in-stadium incidents rare. It also led to the removal of the perimeter fencing. In the years since, most of the pitch invasions have been in celebration, not to start a fight.

There is, of course, even now, the occasional "off" outside the ground. Old habits die hard: The old hooligans outgrew their need to fight, but there would always be younger men in the firms to replace them.