1985 European Cup final

1985 European Cup final
	Match programme cover
Event	1984–85 European Cup
Date	29 May 1985
Venue	Heysel Stadium, Brussels
Referee	André Daina (Switzerland)
Attendance	58,000
	← 1984 1986 →

The 1985 European Cup final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy on 29 May 1985 at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium. It was the final match of the 1984–85 season of the European Cup, Europe's premier cup competition. Liverpool were the reigning champions and were appearing in their fifth final, having won the competition in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984. Juventus were appearing in their third European Cup final.

Each club needed to progress through four rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with a match at each team's home ground. All but one of Juventus' matches were won by two goals or more; in the semi-finals, they beat French team Bordeaux 3–2 on aggregate. Liverpool also won the majority of their matches by more than two goals, except in the second round when they beat Portuguese team Benfica 3–2 on aggregate.

The match is overshadowed for the disaster that occurred before the kick-off. Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 people and injuring hundreds. Despite calls for an abandonment, the match went ahead due to authorities and organisers' making a joint decision for public policy doctrine reasons^[1] after a state of siege in the city was declared.^[2] The disaster prompted UEFA to ban English clubs from European football for five years.

Watched by a crowd of 58,000, the first half was goalless. Juventus took the lead in the 56th minute when Michel Platini scored from a penalty after Gary Gillespie was adjudged to have brought down Zbigniew Boniek in the penalty area, although the foul was actually committed nearly a yard outside the area and the referee was far from the action.^[3] The score remained the same throughout the remainder of the match and Juventus won 1–0, achieving their first European Cup win and became the first club to have won all three major European trophies (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and the Cup Winners' Cup).

^ "L'UEFA: perché si è deciso di giocare" (in Italian). La Stampa. 30 May 1985. p. 2.
^ Mario Sconcerti (30 May 1985). "Fuga da Bruxelles" (in Italian). la Repubblica. it: La città è in stato d'assedio. Per le strade non un'anima viva. [The city is in a state of siege. There is not a living soul on the streets.]
^ Lacey, David (29 May 1985). "Liverpool fade into background". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 12 April 2012.

[La_Stampa-1] "L'UEFA: perché si è deciso di giocare" (in Italian). La Stampa. 30 May 1985. p. 2.

[Sconcerti-2] Mario Sconcerti (30 May 1985). "Fuga da Bruxelles" (in Italian). la Repubblica. it: La città è in stato d'assedio. Per le strade non un'anima viva. [The city is in a state of siege. There is not a living soul on the streets.]

[guardian-3] Lacey, David (29 May 1985). "Liverpool fade into background". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 12 April 2012.

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