Famous incidents

The Luton riot

Several significant incidents took place during matches in the 1980s. 1985 was a year marked by several important incidents that involved hooligans.

During a match between Luton and Millwall football teams in 1985, a fight involving supporters and the police broke out, leading to a large riot in which multiple people were injured and several were arrested. This led to the creation of a “war cabinet” by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government. The cabinet was meant to tackle and combat hooliganism. The Prime Minister also called for long prison sentences for hooligans as a way to deter others from hooliganism.

The Heysel Stadium disaster

That same year, a tragedy took place during the European Cup final at Brussels between Liverpool Football Club and Juventus, an Italian team. In what became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster, Liverpool fans breached a fence that separated them from the Juventus fans, accidentally causing the collapse of a wall in the stadium, killing 39 people – mostly Juventus fans - and injuring 600. Several Liverpool fans were sentenced to three-years imprisonment after being found guilty of manslaughter.

Many speculate that the disaster could have been avoided if UEFA and t...