It was so close to being one of football’s great stories, something genuinely grandiose enough to rival Brian Clough’s feats with Nottingham Forest, only to become something much grimmer with details to rival a spy novel.

Because on the night before Roma’s European Cup semi-final second leg against Dundee United in 1983-84, with the Serie A club desperate to overturn a 2-0 deficit in order to reach a final being played in their own stadium, referee Michel Vautrot was told to have dinner at a specific restaurant. The referee was also told to wait for a specific moment during the meal. That was when a waiter came over to say “telephone call for Mr Vautrot”. That would be the signal for 100m lire - £50,000 - to be handed over as a bribe.

These are the revelations of Roma director Riccardo Viola - son of the club’s late president Dino Viola - who said all of this on Italian TV company Mediaset Premium a few years ago, although it is claimed the attempt at a bribe failed.

“That is true and a shameful fact,” Viola stated. “All of this was done because we had a difficult game ahead of us against Dundee United. Going out of the competition would have had serious repercussions.”

Now that Roma have reached this stage of the competition for the first time since 1984, so much of the attention will be on the way Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar bent his legs to deny them victory in the final penalty shoot-out. Just as much focus should be on how they tried to break the rules and spirit of the game to deny Dundee United something truly special, something historic. It is thereby the first time that Roma have reached this stage clean.

“We were robbed,” John Holt, veteran of Dundee United from 1973 to 1987, tells The Independent. “That’s right, we were robbed.”

If modern perceptions dictate it feels fanciful that Dundee United should have been in a European Cup final, the realities of the time make that very much the wrong way to think.

Jim McLean’s side were, along with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen, part of “the New Firm” that had completely dislodged Celtic and Rangers from the top of Scottish football. Taking their lead from Aberdeen’s maiden 1980 title, Dundee United won their own first title in 1982-83. Aberdeen then won the next two, completing a three-year spell when Celtic and Rangers didn’t win the league.

That had never happened before, and has never happened since.

When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Show all 41 1 /41 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Liverpool fans in the stands at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome before the 1984 European Cup Final against Roma. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 'Shanks marmalized Milan/Paisley munched the Gladbach/Now Fagan's making Roman ruins' Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Roma fans make the most of their home advantage by unfurling a stand-sized banner. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Security presence by the tunnel before the teams come out for kick-off. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Roma fans wave their flags before kick-off. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Liverpool captain Graeme Souness leads his side out, followed by Bruce Grobbelaar and Kenny Dalglish. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 This would be Souness’ final game for Liverpool, after 358 appearances and seven years at the club. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Back Row (l-r): Bruce Grobbelaar, Alan Kennedy, Kenny Dalglish, Mark Lawrenson, Alan Hansen, Ian Rush.



Front: Phil Neal, Sammy Lee, Graeme Souness (captain), Craig Johnston, Ronnie Whelan. Colorsport / Andrew Cowie When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Roma: Back (l-r): Toninho Cerezo, Paulo Roberto Falcão, Ubaldo Righetti, Agostino Di Bartolomei (captain), Francesco Graziani, Franco Tancredi.



Front: Roberto Pruzzo, Bruno Conti, Sebastiano Nela, Dario Bonetti, Michele Nappi. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Bruce Grobbelaar under pressure from Toninho Cerezo. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Ian Rush gets a shot away despite the challenge of Dario Bonetti. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Phil Neal scores to put Liverpool 1-0 up. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Neal celebrates putting Liverpool in front. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Neal is hugged by Souness as Liverpool celebrate opening the scoring. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 L to R: Roberto Falcao, Cerezo, Souness. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Rush and Michele Nappi. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Falcao and Sammy Lee. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Kenny Dalglish. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Ubaldo Righetti towers over Sammy Lee. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Roma celebrate Roberto Pruzzo’s equalising goal. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Alan Kennedy ahead of Francesco Graziani. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Rush is held by Bonetti. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Steve Nicol comes on as a replacement in the 72nd minute for Craig Johnston. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Nicol under pressure from Nappi. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Rush and Roma's Odoacre Chierico. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Falcao and Souness, with referee Erik Fredriksson looking on. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Grobbelaar saves at the feet of Falcao. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Dalglish on the ball with Souness in support. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Dalglish gets a foot in on Righetti. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Nicol misses the first penalty in the shoot-out. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Souness scores the fifth kick past Franco Tancredi to put Liverpool 2-1 up. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Francesco Graziani misses the eighth kick. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Alan Kennedy scores and Liverpool win the shoot-out 4-2. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Souness lifts the European Cup. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 The goalscorer and captain celebrate with the trophy. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Coaches Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans celebrate with manager Joe Fagan. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Grobbelaar celebrates. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Ian Rush, Craig Johnston, and Sammy Lee. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 The Liverpool team. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 Alan Kennedy. Colorsport When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 When Liverpool went to Rome in 1984 It was Liverpool’s fourth European Cup win in eight years. Colorsport / Andrew Cowie

Dundee United’s own victory also came from football that had rarely been seen in Scotland - and also got them to the 1986-87 Uefa Cup footBll - thanks to the “visionary” work of the blunt but brilliant McLean.

With a fine team core that saw Richard Gough and David Narey at centre-half, Maurice Malpas at left-back, Eamonn Bannan and the late Ralph Milne on the wings and Paul Sturrock up front, manager McLean offered a genuinely elite-level nous. He may well be one of the competition’s most underrated ever managers.

“He was just before his time, to be honest,” Holt explains. “He played European football, the way we would approach games. It was how he prepared. He lived for football and was so organised. Jim would go around every player and made sure they were taking it in. He was a visionary, and would see things other managers. He was such a good tactician - although I wouldn’t say the best man-manager! He could be difficult. At the end of the day, though, there were 11 good players on that park given the right instructions.”

That was proved by how they surged through Europe, right up until that semi-final second leg. United put six past Hamrun Spartans and four past Standard Liege to no reply, with the latter involving a thumping 4-0 win at Tannadice at a time when Belgian football was among the best in Europe. They then overcame a 2-1 deficit to knock out a respected Rapid Wien on away goals, before trampling over Roma 2-0 in the first leg of the semi-final.

The Italians had made the mistake many had of underestimating them, and that against a manager so adept at undercutting such flaws.

“We played them off the park at Tannadice,” Holt says. “They just thought they were going to turn up at Tannadice and win the game, and they didn’t. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best night.

“It had been raining, the ground was soft. It maybe suited the Scottish type of football more than the Italian, but we got through that game. Davie Dodds scored, then Derek Stark scored from 40 yards out.”

Roma lost the final on their own ground on penalties (Colorsport)

United were in full command, and fully confident of going through… but there was already a lot of suspicion between the sides from what had been a bad-tempered first leg.

“Their manager accused of us being on drugs!” Holt says, before joking. “I don’t know if I was on drugs! I don’t know if it was just trying to wind up McLean, possibly. But going into the second leg, we were quite friendly with an Italian chef, and we brought him with us to prepare all the food. Yeah, there was that much suspicion, there certainly was.”

In a hugely bad-tempered match, Roma won 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico - with the third goal a penalty scored by the tragic Agostino di Bartolomei, who died 10 years later.

McLean railed at his team after the game, but the players already felt something wasn’t right during it, and the manager himself later revealed that former SFA secretary Ernie Walker demanded a Uefa investigation. It went unheard.

“The referee was giving free-kicks when we’d hardly touch a guy,” Holt says. “I felt the referee was more for them than us. I didn’t feel he was right down the middle. Every free-kick, I thought, and there were a lot. It just kept increasing the pressure. We all felt it at the time, no doubt.”

The United players ultimately missed the opportunity to play in one of sport’s great occasions, and maybe to offer one of sport’s great fairytales. Roma were ultimately beaten on penalties by Liverpool in a final held in their own stadium.

“We could have gone further,” Holt says. “We had the players.”

Those players were also greatly supporting Liverpool.