1985 Kenilworth Road riot

Luton Town vs. Millwall

The Bobbers Stand at Kenilworth Road (1980 photograph)
Event	1984–85 FA Cup sixth round
Luton Town Millwall 1 0
Date	13 March 1985
Venue	Kenilworth Road, Luton
Referee	David Hutchinson
Attendance	17,470

The 1985 Kenilworth Road riot occurred before, during and after an 1984–85 FA Cup sixth-round football match between Luton Town and Millwall on 13 March 1985 at Luton Town's Kenilworth Road ground. It was one of the worst incidents of football hooliganism during the 1980s, and led to a ban on away supporters by Luton Town which lasted for four seasons. This itself led to Luton's expulsion from the Football League Cup during the 1986–87 season. The club also began to enforce a membership card scheme, which Margaret Thatcher's government attempted to have adopted at grounds across England. Kenilworth Road was damaged, along with the surrounding area, and a year later was converted to an all-seater stadium.

Millwall's unwanted association with football hooliganism became strongly apparent with their rise in the English game during the 1980s. Millwall's Bushwackers were already one of the most notorious hooligan firms in the country by 1985, while Luton Town had their own fringe of hooligans in the MIGs.The Den, home of Millwall, had been the scene of a riot seven years earlier, when during another FA Cup sixth-round match against Ipswich Town Millwall-aligned hooligans had injured dozens of their own club's supporters. Following the incident, the opinion of Ipswich manager Bobby Robson was that "[the police] should have turned the flamethrowers on them".