English soccer to mark 30th anniversary of Bradford disaster

21 November 2014 - 17:18 By REUTERS
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The 30th anniversary of the fire at Bradford City's soccer ground, which killed 56 people in May 1985 will be commemorated by the Premier League and Football League next year.

Although the actual date of the disaster at Bradford's Valley Parade stadium was May 11, all matches on the weekend of April 25-26 will be preceded by a minute's silence.

The date ties in with City's final home match of their League One (third division) campaign when they play Barnsley.

The fire started just before halftime during Bradford's final home match of the 1984-85 season against Lincoln City. As well as the 56 who were killed, more than 260 people were injured.

The Football League's chief executive, Shaun Harvey, said in a statement on Bradford City's website (bradfordcityfc.co.uk): "This period of silence will give fans across the country the opportunity to remember the terrible events that occurred at Valley Parade back in 1985 and, in particular, the supporters of Bradford City and Lincoln City that lost their lives.

"The disaster's impact continues to resonate within the Bradford community and within football and we must ensure that the lessons learned from it are never forgotten."

The tragedy is often referred to as English football's forgotten disaster, as it happened 18 days before 39 Italian fans lost their lives at Heysel Stadium before Liverpool's European Cup final against Juventus in Brussels.

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