New documentary The Heysel disaster soon to be shown on Streamz

Forty years after the disaster, director Jan Verheyen looks back on the events that are central to the six-part documentary The Heysel Drama. On 29 May 1985, a huge football party between Juventus and Liverpool in the Heysel Stadium degenerated into a full-blown battle between English hooligans and Italian supporters. 39 people died, hundreds were injured and millions of television viewers were ‘live’ witnesses that evening. A disaster whose aftermath lasted for years.

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Forty years after the events, director Jan Verheyen looks back on the events in the six-part international documentary The Heysel Drama. Using more than sixty testimonies in five countries, one of the biggest scars in Belgian history is reconstructed.

After less than an hour, all tickets for the match were sold out. More than 58,000 spectators and 400 million television viewers were to follow the match between Juventus and Liverpool live. None of them could have expected that the match would end in disaster.

The Heysel disaster is an ambitious six-part international documentary that puts together the complete puzzle of how it could have come to this, what went wrong that fateful evening, and who was ultimately convicted.

To bring this story to life, the makers travelled to no fewer than thirty locations in five European countries: Belgium, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France and Italy. They met the witnesses at a number of iconic locations, such as the courtroom of the Brussels Palace of Justice where the Heysel trials were held, the practice track on the roof of the Fiat building in Turin, the legendary Anfield stadium in Liverpool and the supporters' cafés on Anfields Road.

Based on more than 60 testimonies, often from people who have never wanted to speak before, and archive footage from many countries, The Heysel Drama tells the moving and shocking story of one of the greatest scars in Belgian history. The various witnesses experienced the drama from different angles. Among them the French football commentator Jean-Michel Larqué; the then British Minister of Sport David Mellor; UEFA delegate Gerhard Aigner; players from Juventus and Liverpool including Stefano Tacconi, Sergio Brio, Sammy Lee and Mark Lawrenson; Liverpool supporters Terry Wilson and John Welsh; then police commissioner Roland Vanreusel, then gendarmerie captain Johan Mahieu; and Carl Huybrechts and Mark Uytterhoeven who were both there as journalists for BRT.

Relatives of the fatal victims also have their say, such as family members of the Juventus supporters Roberto Lorentini and Amadeo Spolaore who lost their lives there. Both went to Heizel, with their families, to watch the match but never returned home.

The testimonies are supported by archive footage that reconstructs how the day went. Even with footage from various witnesses on the spot.

You can watch the six-part documentary in its entirety from Wednesday 14 May on Streamz and later weekly on VTM.