Euro 1988
West Germany were confirmed as hosts of the eighth European Championship finals on 14th March 1985 having been recommended by UEFA's organizing committee at a meeting in Berne the previous month. The West German bid beat off the challenge of England, the Netherlands and a joint Scandinavian bid (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark). Two days before the announcement was made, Millwall fans rioted at Luton Town in front of TV cameras, tearing up seats and hurling them at the police, the Luton goalkeeper was also struck by a coin on the back of the head as well as having a knife thrown at him. The English F.A. Chairman Bert Millichip said that England had lost the bid for Euro '88 because of the bad behaviour of England fans at home and abroad.
England did at least go on to qualify for the finals this time, as did the Republic of Ireland, and thankfully that meant comprehensive coverage of the tournament on ITV and the BBC with all but two fixtures being shown live. Despite England's poor performance's, which saw them lose all three of their group games and fans rioting in the streets, the tournament was another enjoyable success with at least one goal in every match, no need for extra-time or penalties, not one single player sent off and probably the greatest goal ever scored in a major final.

Commentators / Theme Tunes
ITV's commentators at the finals were Brian Moore, Martin Tyler and Alan Parry. Nick Owen presented the programmes from London. The co-commentators included Ron Atkinson, Trevor Francis and Ian St John. ITV stuck with the same theme they had used for the 1986 World Cup, "Aztec Gold" by Silsoe.
The BBC's live games were voiced by John Motson and Barry Davies. The presenter was Des Lynam, the co-commentators Jimmy Hill, Bobby Charlton and Trevor Brooking.
RTE in Ireland had George Hamilton and Jimmy Magee commentating whilst the programmes were presented by Bill O'Herlihy with studio guests Johnny Giles and Don Givens.

Qualification
The qualifying draw was made in Frankfurt on 14th February 1986. Once again, only the nations that finished on top of the 7 groups would progress to the finals - A proposal to have the top two teams from each group take part in a play-off round was rejected. Following the Heysel disaster the previous year, England were keen to avoid Italy as well as other potential flash points (such as Denmark and France) which may have led to them being thrown out of the tournament had further outbreaks of crowd disorder occurred, the English club sides having already been banned from European competitions. Thankfully England were drawn in Group 4 to play against Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia (who they hadn't met since the airport incident involving Kevin Keegan in 1974) and Turkey (who they had brushed aside 8-0 and 5-0 in the World Cup qualifiers). Manager Bobby Robson took time out from a ski-ing holiday in France to tell reporters; "I'm absolutely delighted we are able to concentrate on the football. It's so nice to rid ourselves of potentially difficult fixtures. What people don't realise is how much it affects the team when we have trouble." F.A. secretary Ted Croker expressed his desire to negotiate live TV coverage of England's three away games to discourage fans from travelling.
Mike England's Wales would have to face Czechoslovakia, Denmark and Finland in Group 6. For Scotland it was a case of deja vu, being paired up in Group 7 with Belgium yet again (who had qualified from Scotland's group in no less than three of the last four European Championships in 1972, 1980 and 1984), they would also have to play the Republic of Ireland (who had just appointed Jack Charlton as manager) and Bulgaria. Following the 1986 World Cup, Alex Ferguson rejected an offer to become Scotland's manager on a permanent basis and Andy Roxburgh was appointed on 1st July 1986.
 

British TV coverage of Euro 1988

ITV games are in white, BBC or non-televised matches are in grey.

Tue 12/Jan/1988    Euro '88 Finals Draw
*No coverage on British TV. The draw was made in Dusseldorf by the 8 year old son of former West German international Uli Stielike.

England Squad Single
An all time low was reached in 1988 on the football song front, although the embarrassment felt at first hearing England's song "All the Way" (composed and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman) was nothing compared to watching a mimed performance of the single on an edition of BBC1's chat show "Wogan" for which players worked-out on the stage with gym equipment as they sang along. The single was released on the MCA label (cat no. GOAL 1 with an instrumental version on the b-side) and reached no.64 on the charts. Imagine if this song had gone on to become associated with a tournament winning team! At least in terms of the music, the single inspired the results it deserved.

Wed 08/Jun/1988    "Mid-week Sports Special"
*ITV's preview of the tournament was included on the Wednesday night "Midweek Sports Special" at 10:35pm-12:00am (boxing billed too). Nick Owen was joined in the MWSS studio by Brian Clough and Trevor Francis. Jack Charlton and Bobby Robson were both interviewed live. "Sportnight" on BBC1 at 10:20pm-12:10am had a preview with Bob Wilson as well as boxing and cricket. BBC1 also had a very brief preview on Thursday night at 8:50-9:00pm with Des Lynam.

First Round
Game 1

Fri 10/Jun/1988    West Germany 1 (Brehme) Italy 1 (Mancini)
Group A (7:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Trevor Francis
*ITV 6:50-9:05pm. Mancini gave Italy the lead on 52, Brehme equalised for the hosts on 55. BBC1 had a highlights show at 10:20-10:50pm introduced by Des Lynam alongside Terry Venables, John Motson commentated.

Sat 11/Jun/1988    "Saint & Greavsie"
*The first of three Euro '88 editions of the Saturday lunchtime football preview/round-up show with Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves went out on ITV at 1:05-1:35pm. BBC1 had a brief football preview on "Grandstand" at 12:50-1:00pm.

Sat 11/Jun/1988    Spain 3 (Míchel, Butragueño, Gordillo) Denmark 2 (Laudrup, Povlsen)
Group A (2:30pm bst)
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 had live coverage during "Grandstand" at 2:20-4:15pm with Motor Racing at HT. Des Lynam hosted the football with Bobby Charlton and Terry Venables summarising. Míchel put Spain ahead on 5, Laudrup equalised on 24, Butragueño restored the Spanish lead on 52, Gordillo made it 3-1 on 67 before Denmark pulled one back through Povlsen on 82.

Sun 12/Jun/1988    Republic of Ireland 1 (Houghton) England 0
Group B (2:30pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*Exclusively live on ITV from 2:00-4:30pm with Nick Owen alongside Brian Clough and Ian St John (Liam Brady also chipped in with comments during the commentary). Ray Houghton's early goal on 6 minutes was enough to win the game for Ireland. The BBC1 had highlights on "Sunday Grandstand" at 4:40-5:00pm and again during the night match, Barry Davies commentating for them. In Ireland, RTE2 showed live coverage at 2:00-4:35pm, tthe commentator was George Hamilton.

Sun 12/Jun/1988    Soviet Union 1 (Rats) Netherlands 0
Group B (7:15pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 7:05-9:15pm with Des Lynam, Terry Venables and Bobby Charlton. Rats scored the only goal on 52 minutes.

Game 2

Tue 14/Jun/1988    West Germany 2 (Klinsmann, Thon) Denmark 0
Group A (4:15pm bst)
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 4:00-6:00pm, hosted by Des Lynam with Bobby Charlton and Terry Venables. Klinsmann scored for West Germany on 10, Thon made it 2-0 on 85. A feature on Peter Shilton's impending 100th cap was shown at half-time.

Tue 14/Jun/1988    Italy 1 (Vialli) Spain 0
Group A (7:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Ian St John
*ITV 6:50-9:00pm with Nick Owen and Ron Atkinson, Trevor Francis offered his thoughts from the stadium. Vialli scored the only goal on 73. ITV also showed highlights of the afternoon match. BBC1 had a highlights programme with Des Lynam and Bobby Charlton at 10:45-11:30pm with John Motson & Trevor Brooking voicing the Italy game. There were also reports of violence on the streets of Dusseldorf ahead of the England v Netherlands match.

Wed 15/Jun/1988    Netherlands 3 (van Basten 3) England 1 (Robson)
Group B (4:15pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 4:00-6:05pm with Des Lynam, Bobby Charlton and Terry Venables. Marco van Basten gave the Dutch a HT lead with a goal just before the break on 44, Bryan Robson equalised on 53 but van Basten scored again on 71 and then completed his hat-trick on 75 for 3-1 (The first hat-trick scored against England since 1959). ITV highlights were shown during the night match, Martin Tyler and Trevor Francis commentating. Most ITV regions also showed a very late programme from 12.35am-2.30am, seemingly of the full 90 minutes.

Wed 15/Jun/1988    Republic of Ireland 1 (Whelan) Soviet Union 1 (Protasov)
Group B (7:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore
*ITV 6:45-9:00pm. Nick Owen introduced alongside Ian St John, the programme included highlights of the England game. Liam Brady contributed his thoughts from the stadium. Ronnie Whelan put the Irish ahead on 38, Protasov equalised on 74. The draw meant that it was now impossible for England to reach the semi-finals. Gary Lineker and Bryan Robson were interviewed live from the England hotel after the match finished. BBC1 had a highlights show at 10:25-10:55pm introduced by Des Lynam, Barry Davies voiced the Republic v Soviet Union. In Ireland, RTE2 showed the match live at 6:45-9:25pm with George Hamilton commentating. Channel 4 even got into the European Championship spirit as they screened a documentary on Franz Beckenbauer from 11pm-midnight.

Game 3

Fri 17/Jun/1988    West Germany 2 (Völler 2) Spain 0
Group A (7:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Alan Parry & Ron Atkinson
*ITV 7:00-9:30pm with Nick Owen and Ian St John in the studio plus Trevor Francis at the stadium. Live coverage of this Group A game and highlights of the other. Two goals by Völler on 29 and 51 won the group for West Germany. John Motson commentated on this game for BBC highlights.

Fri 17/Jun/1988    Italy 2 (Altobelli, De Agostini) Denmark 0
Group A (7:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Goals from Altobelli on 67 and De Agostini on 87 secured Italy's place in the semi-finals. BBC1 also had highlights of both of today's games at 11:20pm-12:05am.

Group A Final Table
1. West Germany   +4  5
2. Italy          +3  5
3. Spain          -2  2
4. Denmark        -5  0

Sat 18/Jun/1988    "Saint & Greavsie"
*Another Euro '88 edition of the Saturday lunchtime football preview/round-up show with Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves, ITV 1:05-1:35pm. Surprisingly there was no football preview/round-up scheduled for BBC1's "Grandstand"

Sat 18/Jun/1988    Netherlands 1 (Kieft) Republic of Ireland 0
Group B (2:30pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*Live coverage during "Grandstand" from 2:30-4:55pm. Kieft scored a late winner for the Dutch on 82 which saw the Netherlands leapfrog Ireland in the table and claim a place in the semi-finals alongside the Soviet Union. In Ireland, unlike the previous two Irish games which had been shown on RTE2, this match was shown on RTE1 as part of "Sports Stadium" with live coverage from 2:15-4:30pm.

Sat 18/Jun/1988    Soviet Union 3 (Aleinikov, Mikhailichenko, Pasulko) England 1 (Adams)
Group B (2:30pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Barry Davies
*An England fixture in the finals of a major tournament that was not shown live! But quite rightly the BBC opted to show Ireland rather than what was a meaningless match for England. BBC1 showed highlights of England's match at HT and FT of the Ireland match. Aleinikov scored early for the Soviets on 3, Tony Adams equalised on 16 but Mikhailichenko put the Soviet Union back in front on 28 and Pasulko condemned England to finish with 0 points with a 3rd goal on 73. An unhappy end to international duty for three England players - Kenny Sansom (86 caps), Glenn Hoddle (53 caps) and Everton's Dave Watson (12 caps). ITV had highlights of the Group B games at 11:05pm-12:00am, probably with Martin Tyler commentating.

Group B Final Table
1. Soviet Union   +3  5
2. Netherlands    +2  4
3. Rep of Ireland  0  3
4. England        -5  0

Semi-finals

Tue 21/Jun/1988    Netherlands 2 (R.Koeman(pen), van Basten) West Germany 1 (Matthäus(pen))
Hamburg, 7:15pm bst
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*ITV 6:50-9:15pm, Nick Owen joined in the studio by Gary Lineker and Ian St John plus Trevor Francis at the stadium. Lothar Matthäus gave West Germany the lead with a penalty on 55 but the Dutch were awarded a penalty of their own on 74 which was converted by Ronald Koeman. With extra-time looming, van Basten scored a late winner for the Dutch on 88. BBC1 included highlights in their "Wimbledon Tennis Match of the Day" programme at 10:50pm-12:10am with John Motson & Bobby Charlton commentating.

Wed 22/Jun/1988    Soviet Union 2 (Lytovchenko, Protasov) Italy 0
Stuttgart, 7:15pm bst
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 7:00-9:00pm. Two 2nd half goals by Lytovchenko on 58 and Protasov on 62 sent the Soviet Union through the final. The BBC also showed highlights during the Tennis programme at 10:05-11:05pm. Martin Tyler's voice was heard on the goals for ITV, probably shown on "Saint & Greavsie", Curiously, Anglia were billed to show highlights at 12:25am-1:00am but no other region was, which perhaps suggests that ITV highlights were cancelled well in advance but that Anglia failed to provide details of their re-arranged late night schedule.

The Final

Sat 25/Jun/1988    "Saint & Greavsie"
*Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves previewed the final on ITV at 1:35-2:00pm.

Sat 25/Jun/1988    Netherlands 2 (Gullit, van Basten) Soviet Union 0
Munich, 2:30pm bst
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*Both channels showed the final live, ITV had coverage from 2:15-5:00pm (following "Saint & Greavsie" and a brief boxing preview). BBC1 showed the match as part of "Grandstand" with a round-up of the tournament and preview of the final at 12:35-1:00pm before live coverage of the game from 2:20-4:35pm with John Motson & Jimmy Hill commentating. Ruud Gullit headed the Netherlands into the lead on 32, Marco van Basten made it 2-0 with one of the greatest goals of all time on 54, volleying in magnificently from a tight angle on the right. The Soviet Union were unlucky not to pull a goal back, Ihor Belanov struck a shot against the foot of the post and later had a spot-kick saved by Hans van Breukelen, whose foul on Sergey Gotsmanov had led to the penalty award. The BBC might have also showed highlights either as part of the Tennis programme on Saturday night or "Sunday Grandstand", but if so it was not billed.