Nostalgia: When it all turned sour for Leeds United in Paris final

Leeds United fans in full voice before the atmosphere turned nasty at the Parc des Princes in 1975.

Outrage and injustice were the emotions 42 years ago this weekend with the Whites appearing in their only European Cup final when they were ‘robbed’ 2-0 by Bayern Munich.

Defending English champions Leeds were adapting to life under manager Jimmy Armfield who had taken over following the infamously short-lived 44-day reign of Brian Clough.

Clough had been appointed in July after the 13-year reign of Don Revie ended with United again crowned champions of England for the second time in their history. But despite a miserable start to the season under Clough, United had a first European Cup campaign to look forward to and navigated their way through ties against FC Zurich, Ujpest Dozsa, Anderlecht and Barcelona to book a date with reigning European Cup champions Bayern at the Parc des Princes in Paris on May 28, 1975.

It would prove United’s last appearance in a major cup final until the League Cup showdown of 1996 against Aston Villa, with the final against Bayern proving one that somehow got away – and one that had serious repercussions.

In front of a crowd of 48,374, United dominated but were denied what looked a blatant penalty when Bayern captain Franz Beckenbauer handled. The incident was ignored by referee Michel Kitabdjian and Billy Bremner later saw a close-range effort saved by Sepp Maier.

Leeds then finally looked to have taken a 62nd-minute lead through a stunning volley from Peter Lorimer. But, amid angry scenes, Bremner was ruled offside and Bayern netted the game’s opening goal nine minutes later through Franz Roth, whose low effort squirmed inside the left-hand post.

Gerd Muller then doubled Bayern’s advantage 10 minutes later from close range and that was that – with worse to follow. After riots during the game, UEFA banned Leeds from European competition for four years – reduced to two on appeal.

The club finally returned to Europe in 1979 after finishing fifth the previous year but two years later the Whites were relegated to Division Two.