In 1985, a series of incidents brought English football hooliganism to a head. First, during a match between Luton Town and Millwall in March, a mass riot broke out between the two sets of fans, which spread onto the pitch and into the surrounding town. Sean Ingle writing in "The Guardian" described it as "a night football died a slow death", and the chairman of the Football Association, Bert Millichip, said that the riot was the reason that England was not named as host for the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship. Two months later, Liverpool fans were blamed for the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 fans, predominantly supporters of Juventus, were killed and over 600 injured. That incident led to English clubs being banned from European competitions for five years.