The most powerful statement on a night of intense emotion came shortly before the first Liverpool-Juventus match in 20 years had begun. A group of supporters from both clubs approached the 2,600 Italian fans at the Anfield Road End carrying a banner bearing the words Memoria e amicizia, in memory and friendship.

It was a gesture intended to express regret and sorrow but it was met with a devastatingly eloquent response. As the banner moved forward, watched from the centre circle by Phil Neal, Michel Platini and Ian Rush, all of whom had played at Heysel, the front 10 rows simply turned their backs.

They did so again moments later when Anfield stood for a minute's silence and supporters on the Kop displayed a mosaic repeating the sentiment, Amicizia. The response was not unanimous - many of those wearing black and white applauded and did so again as You'll Never Walk Alone rang out - but it demonstrated the extent of the pain inflicted by those Liverpool supporters who had rioted at the fateful 1985 European Cup final.

Liverpool know more about tragedy than any British club. Their supporters have grieved for those lost at Hillsborough and campaigned for those responsible to be brought to account. However, in contrast, their part in the carnage four years earlier had not, until last night, been publicly and unconditionally acknowledged.

Ever since the rioting that brought to an end the club's eight-year dominance of European football, argument has raged on Merseyside as to who was truly culpable: Uefa, fans from the rival clubs and the Belgian police were all held responsible.

Yesterday, pricked by the unavoidable reminder of a Champions League quarter-final, Anfield finally faced up to the most shameful night in the club's history. Alan Hansen, speaking in a radio interview before the match, came closer than anyone who played that night to the heart of Liverpool's Heysel problem. "The only time I think about Heysel these days is when someone brings it up or reminds me of it," he said. "Of course if you had a family member die that day you never stop thinking about it."

Hansen's acknowledgement of the suffering of the families was a reminder that even someone as close to events at Heysel and Hillsborough as Hansen can sometimes forget.

As the Juventus fans' who turned their backs reminded all those who saw it, that is not a luxury afforded to the families of the victims. Last night's game was not only the first time the teams had met since May 29th, 1985. It was also significant as a reunion of sorts for many of those who bore witness to the carnage. Players, officials, journalists, and thousands of supporters from both sides gathered for the first time since and fittingly witnessed a public apology not only from the Kop, but from individuals. Terry Wilson, a Liverpool fan jailed for his part in the Heysel rioting, was given two pages of the match programme to say what many others have struggled to achieve. Under the headline "I'm sorry", he wrote: "The older I have got the more remorse I have felt for my reactions on the night. I've grown up, I'm older and wiser now and I have learned from my mistakes. I am sorry for my reactions that night in Brussels to what was happening around me. I didn't go to Belgium looking for trouble . . . I'm not proud of my actions."

Wilson's words were part of a citywide expression of remorse, some stage-managed but all sincere. Red, white and black friendship wristbands were handed out to the visiting fans, and council workers toured the city with welcome packs for anyone looking vaguely Mediterranean.

Anfield's chief executive Rick Parry, speaking before a football match between supporters at Liverpool's academy, struck the tone for the day. "We are all sorry about what happened that night," he said. "We very much regret what happened. I hope we can all forgive and forget and move on. We have tried to ensure the whole day is a day of friendship, an opportunity to move on together."

The match was an initiative prompted by Richard Buxton, who at 17 was not even born when Heysel happened. His idea was taken up by Juventus Club Londra, who sent a team, and in a spontaneous gesture as effective as any witnessed yesterday offered him a ticket among the away support. He accepted without reservation, but it is unlikely that in a week's time in Turin Liverpool fans will feel able to do the same.