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Friday, 13 November 2015

Belgium v Italy - Heysel Remembered


Friday's friendly between Belgium and Italy will be used to commemorate the victims of the Heysel Stadium tragedy, shortly after the 30th anniversary.

The match is being played at the King Baudouin Stadium, which is the rebuilt Heysel Stadium, where 39 people - mostly Italians - died during fan violence at the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus on May 29, 1985.

A shirt was laid along with flowers to honour the 39 who died

There was a ceremony before Thursday's training session to retire Italy's No. 39 shirt in memory of the victims, and during the match itself play will be stopped after 39 minutes for a period of reflection.

Prior to to kick-off, both teams will hold up a commemorative banner.

Yesterday's ceremony drew an emotional response from the Italy players, with Gianluigi Buffon in particular overwhelmed by the occasion.

Both Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini laid flowers at the memorial to the victims of the disaster, which saw a stadium wall collapse after crowd trouble between the two sets of supporters.

In total, the tragic incident claimed the lives of 39 fans and left another 600 injured.

Giorgio Chiellini presented a bouquet of flowers

At the memorial service, members of the Azzurri's Juventus contingent Andrea Barzagli Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio looked solemn as they remembered those supporters who lost their lives.

The friendly itself kicks off at 7.45pm this evening, and Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has admitted he wants to experiment with some players, including rightback Luis Pedro Cavanda of Trabzonspor.

Juventus players Andrea Barzagli Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio remember those who lost their lives

"Players will have a chance to show themselves," Wilmots said. "We will be rotating."

Friday's game would have been a highlight for Napoli's Dries Mertens but he was out after tearing a right thigh muscle this week.

Captain Vincent Kompany is also out of both games as he is troubled by a calf injury and, after already angering Manchester City by fielding him last month at the end of an injury spell, Wilmots is looking to keep risks to a minimum.

"I don't want to overexert him, also out of respect for Manchester City," Wilmots said. "We have enough other options."


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