Antoni Sarcevic caused pandemonium at the Valley Parade when George Lapslie’s wayward shot struck his legs and dribbled past Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch on the final day of the 2025 League Two season.
Wild scenes greeted the ball crossing the line as Bradford won the final match of the year. They will now play in League One for the first time since 2019. The joy burst so much in the stands that many fans ran on to the pitch.
This was eight days short of an anniversary when fans entered the playing surface at this famous old ground for very different reasons 40 years ago.
Vivid memories remain for those involved in the fire on May 11, 1985. There was initial jubilance as Bradford lifted the old Third Division trophy before kicking off against Lincoln City, a similar jubilance that met their promotion-earning victory on May 3 this year.
But at around 3.40 pm, a small fire was spotted in the main stand, which grew larger in the wind. Police began to evacuate people from block G. Referee Don Shaw stopped the match three minutes before half-time.
With fans trapped in their seats and others trying to escape through locked doors, 56 people were killed, and at least 265 people were injured. The stand was reduced to bare steel and stone, with remnants of burned seats and fences.
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Bradford City stadium fire reaches 40th anniversary
Sky Sports Golf commentator and former European Tour professional Ewen Murray was there on one of British football’s darkest days, after playing golf with one of the best players to pick up a club a few hours earlier.
“I played Moortown a few times when they had the Car Care Plan International there, and the tournament was there the week of the Bradford fire,” Murray recalled. “I was in that Bradford fire. I remember playing with Gary Player in the third round on the Saturday, and Bradford were looking to get promotion when that fire started.”
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Murray won three times as a professional before joining Sky Sports in 1989. He has become one of the most recognisable and respected voices in the game.
The Car Care Plan International was an event held between 1982 and 1986 at some of Yorkshire’s most popular golf courses. Sir Nick Faldo won in 1983 at Sand Moor and again at Moortown in 1984. DJ Russell won at the same venue in 1985.
“I’ve still got the ticket because I got the ticket from the chairman of Bradford who is a close friend of a chap I was staying with that week,” Murray added. “Stafford Higginbotham, his name was. I mean it was a horrific afternoon, some of the sights stay with you.”
“They were playing Lincoln. And I’d just finished the third round, and we got in the car and drove to Valley Parade – it was a full house because of the occasion and the back doors were locked – I have visions of policemen and kids. Horrible stuff. Players looking for their family.”
It was later established that the fire started from a fan who went to put his cigarette out, but it fell between floorboards into a pile of rubbish below. It reportedly took four minutes for the devastating blaze to spread. Fans ran on to the pitch as their clothes caught fire, but many didn’t escape.
After the disaster, an inquiry initiated legislation to improve safety in football grounds. New wooden grandstands were banned at all UK sports venues, and smoking was banned at grounds with wooden stands. It also transpired that the wooden stand was due to be demolished two days after the tragedy.
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“It’s a long time ago now, 40 years ago, but it was a terribly sad day for that part of the world.”
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