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A value-added analysis of the Heysel Stadium soccer riot

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Abstract

On May 29, 1985, a riot occurred at the European Cup Final soccer championship between Liverpool and Juventus at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. The riot, which caused the death of thirty-nine soccer fans, had a profound effect on English society as well as on professional soccer. This essay uses Smelser’s (1962) general model of collective behavior to analyze data derived from a number of sources describing the Heysel Stadium riot. In particular, this analysis focuses on a period of four hours, from the beginning of the riot at about 7:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the match around 11:30 p.m.

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Lewis, J.M. A value-added analysis of the Heysel Stadium soccer riot. Current Psychology 8, 15–29 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686734

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