Supporter power

May 11th 1985 was the day football changed. Twenty years ago marks the first of three major disasters at football grounds that would result in double-figure death tolls. The fire at Bradford City's Valley Parade resulted in the deaths of 52 people, while 211 supporters and police were injured and more than 70 were taken to hospital suffering from burns.

The accidental dropping of a cigarette in a polystyrene cup was thought to have caused the blaze, while the antiquated timber stand helped the fire spread quickly. Many fans died needlessly after it was discovered that the exits had been locked shut and, ironically, work to replace the old wooden building with steel cladding was due to start two days later.

Due to the coverage of the fire, events at Birmingham v Leeds on the same day received little column space. At that game, it was described as the worst public disorder in 27 years and the longest riot in soccer history. 125 were arrested, 200 injured, half being police officers, and one 15-year old boy died after a wall collapsed on him.

In the days that followed English football grounds were placed under the microscope. It emerged that Bradford's main stand had never been fully inspected for fire safety and the fire service were powerless to insist on safety measures. Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, promised an official inquiry that would go beyond the circumstances surrounding the fire and study the safety precautions and standards in operation at all British clubs. The investigation promised to update the Sports Grounds Act of 1975 that arose after the tragedy at Ibrox Park in 1971.

The 1980s were a dark chapter for English football; many different political, social, cultural and economical factors were contributing to an uninviting national pastime. Hooliganism on the terraces had alienated large sections of the public, TV companies were losing interest, a new breed of club chairmen promised radical change of the game's image, uncertainty and apprehension reigned, the football authorities seemed complacent, the press were monotonous through their stereotyping, policing was brutal, ground conditions abysmal, and issues such as racism were ignored.

Football had barely recovered from the shock of Bradford when 18 days later another 39 were to die at Heysel. 45 minutes before Liverpool and Juventus were to kick-off the European Cup final in Brussels, a 6ft wall at one end of the stadium gave way during a stampede by Italian spectators after they were charged by a section of the Liverpool crowd. In the aftermath of May 29th, fourteen Liverpool fans were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and given three-year sentences, all English clubs were banned from playing in Europe for five years, but for Liverpool it was ten.

U.E.F.A. president Jacques Georges escaped criticism for allowing his organisation to select a, "Rotting, ramshackle stadium to stage their most prestigious event of the season" as one fan described it, although a U.E.F.A. official and senior policeman did stand trial for negligence, and Belgium's Home Affairs minister was forced to resign.

One of the long-running problems was hooliganism, which had first come to prominence during the late 1970s and continued well into the 80s. A small percentage of disorder on the terraces was impulsive, while rival gangs, known as firms, prearranged most of the fighting. Politicians and journalists labelled football supporters with the same 'hooligan' reputation, even though a minority caused trouble. Primarily it was through tabloid representation and the sensationalist coverage that the so-called 'English disease' was believed to be so widespread. Headlines fuelled the moral outrage, creating unnecessary panic and prompted tougher controls, while this exaggerated portrayal of hooliganism only made things worse

While the media was enflaming the moral panic, hooligans began to get organised by forming firms, such as West Ham's Inter City Firm, Chelsea Headhunters and NUFC's Toon Army, violence had stopped being mindless - it now had a plan. Being a member of a firm provided a status beyond their means and empowered them with a tribal mentality. Newspapers developed a hypocritical relationship with this new brand of hooligan that had emerged; one day they would condemn it and the next would publish league tables of who was worst, thereby encouraging firms to aim for the top position.

Columnists of the late Eighties, such as the Sunday Telegraph's Auberon Waugh and Frank Johnson, were writing about an imagined nostalgia of how the game used to be much bigger but everybody was good humored, 'life was hard but fair'. Crowd problems were all to prevalent during the 'Golden Age of football' but a small fraction of the press viewed conditions, which were part of growing up in their day, with terror.

Throughout 1984, fans from all divisions were becoming disillusioned and disheartened with the game as a whole. They decided to produce alternatives to the tedious matchday programme in an attempt to get their voice heard and prove their active participance in the club. By November of that year, journals and zines such as City Gent (Bradford City), The Pie (Notts County), Terrace Talk (York City) and Fingerpost (West Bromwich Albion) were being released each trying to restore their dignity and instigate change. Within six months, football would be contemplating the true changes drastically needed to all aspects of the game.