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          Juventus plan mass to commemorate 30th anniversary of Heysel tragedy

          • Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondentMay 29, 2015, 04:48 AM ET

          The entire Juventus squad and staff are to take part in a mass on Friday evening in remembrance of the Heysel tragedy 30 years ago.

          Just a week before the Bianconeri return to the final of Europe's leading club competition, the events of 30 years ago -- when 39 fans lost their lives in Brussels -- will be remembered in a service in the Gran Madre di Dio church in the Piedmont capital.

          An event commemorating the night of that European Cup final in the Belgian capital will also be held on Friday afternoon with dignitaries from the club and the city taking part.

          In spite of the incidents which took place prior to kickoff three decades ago, the game was played and Juventus won 1-0.

          It was their first of two European Cup titles, and the last game Polish midfielder Zbigniew Boniek played for the club, although he recalled how he would rather not have been involved.

          "None of us wanted to play," he said in an interview taken from a book written by journalist Francesco Ceniti and published in extracts by La Gazzetta dello Sport. "We looked each other in the eyes, but our thoughts were elsewhere. There was a surreal silence while outside we could hear voices, screams and desperation.

          "We knew that something had happened, even that there were victims. We didn't know how many, but that doesn't change anything. Juve did not want to play -- neither the players nor the staff.

          "Then UEFA came and gave us a choice which was not really a choice. If we refused to play, then we would be held responsible for what happened. It still hurts a lot to talk about that May 29. It's a wound which will never close.

          "It was supposed to be a special day, one of celebration. To die in such a way is absurd. Yet it was in the air. It was only a question of time. Even today I think about how the families of those 39 victims must have suffered. That is why I gave my bonus for winning to them."

          Leonardo Bonucci -- who will take to the field in Berlin next Saturday bidding to win Juve their third European Cup -- was only nine at the time, but the defender says he could still remember his father trying to explain to him what had happened.

          "I was lost for words," he said. "How could a game turn into a tragedy?"