“The image of my husband while he was reading an appeal to the fans that evening is an image that will never leave me,” said Mariella Scirea. “This is the first time that I have been here, after that night which left such a big mark on all of us. I still remember the nights when I couldn’t sleep in the weeks after as I was thinking about what happened.”
Lorentini also underlined that nobody should forget what his father did after he was awarded a medal after losing his life while trying to save a child.
“Unfortunately, in a culture of violence, certain chants still exist in the stadiums,” said Lorentini. “It is important that we don’t let our guard down. This stadium which is the successor to Heysel will be knocked down soon so that they can build a new one nearby. The Belgian authorities have made assurances that they will put up a plaque there to commemorate the tragedy.”
“We will supervise that process as Italians but also on a diplomatic and federal level considering what happened,” concluded Garimberti. “It was a touching moment that took me back,” said coach Antonio Conte on the retiring of the number 39 shirt. “I have been here before to put flowers down before another match. It was a unique moment, one that made us all very emotional. If you think about what happened, it was something incredibly tragic and we hope that such negative examples prevent it from happening again.”
The commemorations will continue before and during the match. The two teams will take to the field with a banner remembering the tragedy (“29-5-85 We’ll never forget”). Then, in the 39th minute the entire stadium will be invited to applaud the names of the 39 victims as they appear on the LED boards pitchside. MADE IN ITALY – Away from the anniversary of the Heysel tragedy, the FIGC has also promoted the ‘Made in Italy on the field’ initiative for this trip according to the agreement signed with the minister for economic development and ICE, the agency which promotes Italian business abroad. The four World Cups won by the Azzurri were sent to the Italian embassy in Brussels for a reception where business, local entrepreneurs, opinion leaders and media representatives were present.   ]]>