Lindsay Prosser and Lauren Hearst
BBC News, Liverpool
BBC
Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham was at the stadium during the 1985 disaster.
The mayor of the Liverpool City area talks about the importance of remembering the cause of the disaster at Highsel Stadium 40 years later.
Steve Rotherham appeared in the match on May 29, 1985, when 39 people died before the European Cup final in Brussels.
A group of Liverpool fans at Highsel Stadium was charged towards homes in a predominantly collapsed section of supporters of mostly Juventus supporters, causing the wall to collapse.
“It’s an indelible dye for our city,” said Rotherham, who was in another part of the stadium at the time.
All English clubs were banned from European competitions for five years after the disaster. This saw 600 people injured when the wall fell.
Highsel’s liability was initially placed entirely on Liverpool fans, with 14 people later convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned.
The investigation showed hypersensitivity, which is in the collapse of Belgian authorities and Highsel Stadium.
PA Media
Liverpool FC has announced plans to replace existing plaques with new high-cell monuments
Liverpool FC sent a delegation to Turin for the memorial ceremony.
Rotheram said:
“And everyone remembers how the events that caused the loss of life were allowed to develop by the very poor police, the terrible stadiums and many issues with the organization.
“But there is also the fact that some of those people were later imprisoned for the parts that Liverpool fans played in it and the part that they played in it.”
A new memorial plaque was recently announced by Liverpool FC, but the location has not yet been announced.
It replaces the existing commemorative plaques of Kenny Dalglish’s Sir.
LFC
The new monument will tie together Liverpool and Juventus scarves
Jonathan Bamber, Liverpool’s Chief Legal and Foreign Officer, said the club “want to have the opportunity to provide something more meaningful.”
“It’s always been a difficult topic for us as a football club, but it’s something we don’t want to keep from moving away,” he said.
“Hopefully it’s a worthy and lasting tribute to those who lost their lives.”
“The darkest night”
The museum’s curator and club historian Mark Pratt originally planned to travel to the game with his father, but instead saw it on television.
“It was a nightmare. I was only 12 years old at the time,” he said.
“You couldn’t really believe what was going on. You couldn’t understand what you were seeing.”
He said that tragedy is “one of the darkest nights in club history,” but “40 years from now, we never forgot Highsel.”
Pratt said the new monument, featuring two scarves tied together, would be “more prominent.”
Keith Watson, who designed the monument, said it was a “simple design” based on their research.
“We saw two scarves on the terrace, one from Juventus and the other from Liverpool,” he said.
“It gave us the idea of putting together the design as “forever bound” to mean unity, collaboration and reconciliation between the two clubs. ”
