Michel Platini has marked the 30th anniversary of the Heysel Stadium disaster by paying tribute to the 39 people who died.
The Uefa president, who is in Zurich for the Fifa congress and presidential vote, was part of the Juventus team who met Liverpool in the European Cup final on 29 May 1985.
“Thirty years ago, I played in a European Champion Clubs’ Cup final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. And I continue to play in that final,” he said in a statement released by Uefa on Friday morning.
“It hasn’t left me, just like it hasn’t left anyone else who was there that night, and remains with all those who lost a loved one, for whom everything changed in a few terrible minutes.”
Platini scored the winning penalty for Juventus after officials decided the match in Brussels should go ahead despite the events that had taken place around 30 minutes before kick-off, when a wall in the stadium collapsed, killing 32 people from Italy, four from Belgium, two from France and one from Northern Ireland.
“Thirty years later, I am the president of Uefa, the organisation that organised this match, and I am working every day with all my colleagues and friends at the national associations, leagues and clubs to ensure that we will never again experience the horror of such a night,” Platini said.
“We have been working unceasingly for the last 30 years to guarantee safety and security at sporting venues across Europe.
“As the 30th anniversary of that fateful night approaches, my thoughts are with the 39 people who lost their lives and, of course, with their friends and families. I can only express my deepest sympathy and reiterate that I am still doing everything in my power to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.”
Members of Liverpool’s 1985 squad will attend a private memorial service at Anfield on Friday to mark the anniversary, while Ian Rush will attend at a mass at Turin’s Gran Madre di Dio church.
