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Heysel disaster still affects ex-police chief
The Straits Times
|May 30, 2025
Forty years after the Heysel Stadium disaster, former police commissioner Roland Vanreusel remains traumatised "by the sight of the bodies and the cries of those who were dying".
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BRUSSELS - Forty years after the Heysel Stadium disaster, former police commissioner Roland Vanreusel remains traumatised "by the sight of the bodies and the cries of those who were dying".
Before the 1985 European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool in Brussels, Belgium, English fans clashed with their Italian counterparts inside the Heysel Stadium.
The crowd trouble culminated in a surge by Liverpool supporters towards the Juventus fans, leading to the collapse of a wall. Thirty-nine people died, mainly Juventus supporters, with 600 others injured.
Vanreusel was 38 at the time, the Brussels deputy chief commissioner and in charge of overseeing major events.
"I am scarred for life," he told AFP ahead of the May 29 anniversary.
"What I remember most are the cries of pain from those people who were suffocating to death and the cries of joy from the supporters celebrating Juve's 1-0 victory, unaware of the tragedy that had just unfolded."
This story is from the May 30, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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