Liverpool have unveiled plans for a new Heysel memorial at Anfield to mark the 40th anniversary of the disaster that claimed 39 lives beforethe 1985 European Cup final.
Entitled “Forever Bound”, the memorial will feature a Juventus scarf and aLiverpoolscarf entwined in bronze, a dedication to the date and location of the tragedy and the names of the 39 people who were killed that night – 32 from Italy, four from Belgium, two from France and one from Northern Ireland – engraved on white Italian porcelain. It will replace the existing memorial that is located on the wall of the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand.
Bruce Grobbelaar, Liverpool’s goalkeeper in 1985, attended the announcement at Anfield on Wednesday and admitted emotions are still raw. “One, because I was there,” he said. “Two, because my mother came from Africa with her husband. It was the first time she’d watched me play. She turned around to me afterwards and said: ‘If this is football, I don’t want to be a part of it.’ It left a lasting impression in my psyche. I had to live with that for all this time. She never watched me again. She came from Africa, she went back to Africa. She might have watched on TV, but never live.”
The idea to mark the 40th anniversary with a new memorial came from members of the Liverpool supporters’ board and supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly. It was felt the current memorial is inadequate and, with the car park behind the Sir Kenny Dalglish stand occasionally closed to the public, the location unsuitable for people to pay their respects. The location of the new memorial, which will measure approximately 2.2m x 1m, has not been decided. Liverpool have identified five possible options around Anfield including one near the Hillsborough memorial.
Liverpool consulted on the design with representatives of the Hillsborough families, the club’s supporters’ board, Juventus and the president of the Association for the Families of Heysel Victims, Andrea Lorentini. Lorentini’s father, Roberto, was among those killed – aged 31 – when a wall collapsed at the stadium after a charge by Liverpool supporters.
Juventus will mark the anniversary on 29 May by unveiling a new memorial of their own near the Allianz Stadium. “Verso Altrove” is a 65m platform that spirals above ground and focuses on the horizon. The Liverpool great and club ambassador Ian Rush, who also played for Juventus, and the Liverpool chief executive, Billy Hogan, will attend the unveiling in Turin. Out of respect for Juventus’s commemorations next week Liverpool will not unveil their memorial until later in the summer. Juventus officials will attend the Anfield ceremony.
The idea for two scarves tied together originated from photographs of the immediate aftermath of the disaster that showed fan memorabilia discarded all over the Heysel terraces. The image symbolises unity and solidarity between the two clubs, reconciliation and the bond formed by grief. A liver bird and a zebra, in the design of Liverpool’s and Juventus’s insignia from the mid-80s respectively, is on each scarf.
Jonathan Bamber, Liverpool’s chief legal and external affairs officer, explained: “It’s something that we don’t want to forget. Forty years is a significant anniversary and so we felt it was a good moment to review what was already in place. We have a supporters’ board who we liaise with and it was supporters who came to the club and said: ‘Do you think that you should potentially look at this?’ There was the feeling that perhaps there could be something that was slightly more accessible and gave people the opportunity to reflect a bit more.
“The interaction with Juventus and the families has been absolutely paramount, it’s been at the core of really everything that we’ve thought through. An awful lot of thought has gone into it, trying to get it right and make it meaningful.”
Grobbelaar added: “I thank the club and Juventus and the people that have coordinated it for getting this right. Because the two clubs have to come together and they are bound together from that day onwards. They are for ever bound and I think it is a fantastic tribute to the passing of the 39.”