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According to one witness, a Turkish man was pushed to the ground and smashed his teeth on the pavement. The away supporters responded with songs about two Leeds fans who were stabbed to death in Istanbul prior to a fixture against Galatasaray in 2000. . On each trip he would set up a desk in the corridor where the team were staying, a point of contact in case of any problems. [45] It later arose that the majority of the people in the photos were either not involved or had been acting in self-defence. We looked up the steps and all you could see at the top was the dark sky and riot shields around the entrance to the pitch. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. [4], It was not clear how the fight started, with reports of it either being started by Leeds fans throwing beer glasses and insulting the Turkish flag,[5] or being started by Galatasaray fans throwing chairs. "We came out of a bar and there were 100 people waiting for us with machetes, knives, bits of chair and table legs and they just attacked us. This year is the 20th anniversary of the mens deaths in Istanbul and many of their relatives carry those events as if they happened yesterday. "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. Amid the fall-out and a world of shock in Leeds, Ridsdale suggested that the second leg at Elland Road would be safer without away fans. The English FA followed the line of least resistance. For some of it we were relying on the police and the authorities without knowing if they were going to do the right things. Before England played Turkey in a European Championship qualifier in Istanbul in 2003, Englands staff got in touch with Fallows to ask for logistical advice. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. Everything was muddled. It was weird because when we got in the car, the game (Galatasaray versus Leeds) had just started and was on the radio, Andy says. There is very little about the football which Ridsdale cares to remember and at the Ali Sami Yen, the stadium was so overcrowded that he had Galatasaray fans in front of him literally sat on my feet. The next day, he and Leeds players and coaching staff reached the airport, climbed on a plane and flew home. We had to say to them as clearly as we could, If you go into the streets, if you go out drinking, we cant tell you how dangerous itll be. But it was common sense. Tributes began to cover the gates and the Billy Bremner Statue at Elland Road. She remarried and shes carried on with her life but its still there, every time you come up to my dads birthday or the anniversary. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. This led to 19 injuries, including 4 stabbings, and 60 arrests with similar events occurring in England and Turkey in the aftermath of the riots. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. Turkish police, according to British of ficials, appeared to be taking the killings as seriously as they would hope. George is aware of some of the details but has tried not to dig too deeply. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. Leeds have never forgiven Eric Cantona for . Its completely different. Later in the day, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading towards Arsenal fans in bars nearby. [40], The Danish police were also criticised for their handling of the riots. George is different. I think you just go into a downward spiral. "There's a lot of anger. The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. [29], In all, four people were stabbed during the riots: two English, one Turkish and one Dutch fan. The deaths of Kevin Speight and Chris Loftus on the night before Leeds played their Uefa Cup semi-final first leg with Galatasaray - 20 years ago yesterday - represent one of the darkest and. Its funny what sticks in your head, he says. But from 10.30pm local time, any sense of complacency seemed tragically misplaced, as a brutal battle began between Leeds supporters and a group of Turks, with running fights in the streets. Even so, the counterargument holds water. Past present or future..', A second added: 'Would much rather see one of the u23s get a chance at lb than Alioski for the rest of the season. The stadium is stuck in a state of eerie silence but this Sunday it will do what it always does on April 5 by standing in salute to the two who were lost. Spencer interrupted dinner to advise Ridsdale that they should return to the hotel immediately. We had a coach for the players and a coach for the directors, he says. Istanbul was like no other event he has dealt with. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". Speight and Loftus were not close friends but knew each other in passing, as travelling football fans do. It is part of Leeds Uniteds fabric and it will never disappear: the night when football became murder and so many lives were changed. Gray remembers OLeary going out of the team hotel to visit a barbers for a shave beforehand. My mum always says the same: Hed gone out there for the football, nothing else. He described the Turkish policing as diabolical and out of control. No question.. [32] The rest were fined an equivalent of $500 and banned from Denmark for a year.[33]. That is true. We tried to raise awareness but it was a farce. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. Any time I think about what happened, I ask the same question. [8], The stabbings caused anger throughout the United Kingdom, and subsequently members of Arsenal's hooligan firms The Herd and The Gooners,[9] wanted to avenge the deaths of the Leeds fans, and telephoned other British hooligan firms, inviting them to join them in Copenhagen to attack Galatasaray fans. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. He was with Darren Loftus, Christopher's brother who had travelled with him, to identify his body. My mum flicked it straight off again. I prefer to remember that way. George is a regular at Leeds games but until his teens he would wait outside the stadium at the home fixture closest to the April 5 anniversary while a minutes applause played out. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. I looked at Eddie, he looked at me, we smiled a nervous smile and both said the same thing: Lets go.. The blood had to be sourced externally and to do that, someone had to pay. We were just trying to control the worst situation imaginable.. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. Your mind was elsewhere., Harte also felt a delayed reaction. Even then, it was meant to be closed to the press but loads of them were there and they were being really intrusive, Fallows says. Uefa, after consultation with the clubs and the Turkish authorities, wavered but eventually decided to go ahead. Some headed for the James Joyce pub 200 metres away and joined a sing-song against Galatasaray. [12] However, there were conflicting reports, with claims that some Galatasaray fans were instigating some of the violence. ', And: 'Alioski can f*** off, he obviously knows the history between the two clubs.'. Even then, it was meant to be closed to the press but loads of them were there and they were being really intrusive, Fallows says. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. Fans in nearby bars remained unaware of the violence. As chairman of Leeds, he told the UEFA official that it would make sense to postpone the first leg of the semi-final which Leeds and Galatasaray were about to play. She knows who he was but its not the same.. But where Galatasaray failed, and where Ridsdale specifically felt resentment, was in grasping the scale of the tragedy and in refusing to accept that violence on the streets and a UEFA Cup tie could not be classed as unrelated events once the worst had happened. Absolutely amazed and totally stunned. Galatasaray fans entered the area shortly afterwards which precipitated a fight between the two sets of supporters. [17] This came after Arsenal had warned the police before the final that there could be hooligans travelling to Copenhagen. Im not sure Ive even processed it now. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. Send any friend a story. Galatasaray beat English team Leeds United but their matches were marred by violence: two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death before their semi-final first leg at Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul on 6 April 2000. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. My mum just felt she had to move on. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. There were reports that a Galatasaray fan had run to a telephone to call for support when he saw Leeds fans arriving. I went off the rails, he says. Thats just how the system worked. You were dealing with young lads and the last thing you wanted to do was scare them.. [13], On the Wednesday at 1:00, Galatasaray fans attacked a bar in Strget in Copenhagen, where some Arsenal fans were located. Galatasaray advance to Ziraat Trkiye Kupas . At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. Alioski had less of a cross to bear. [30] A Danish police officer[22] and a Turkish cameraman were also injured in the riots. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. [16] Dineen was released from hospital later in the day and attended the match as a guest of the Arsenal directors. In Turkey, two supporters were murdered. I am just trying to come to terms with the fact that I have seen a dead body for the first time in 10 years. The routine for Andy and others who went abroad with Leeds was always the same: straight to the hotel, straight into town, straight on the beer. Outside, Leeds fans reportedly taunted Turkish men. We catch up at the cafe in an Asda store near his home in Killingbeck and he speaks bravely but reluctantly; not because he wants to but because he thinks he should, for the sake of his brother Chriss memory. It wasnt a proper A&E unit. He was taken to identify the other, Chris Loftus, in the morgue after doctors mistook him for a family member. They have nothing but good words for Ridsdales conduct and nothing but gratitude for his support. Obviously he liked his football too. It's a fantastic city and I'm willing to learn. Kevin Fallows was the clubs head of security and travelled with the players to all their fixtures in Europe. ", "They came to kill; Turk fans arm for war", "Arsenal worried about hooligans at UEFA Cup", "First class thugs; Postmen are caught in Copenhagen football rampage", "Post Office refuses to reinstate worker", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2000_UEFA_Cup_Final_riots&oldid=1113653919, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 October 2022, at 15:57. In fact, the Leeds United supporters, arriving for the first leg of their Uefa Cup semi-final with Galatasaray, were at first greeted in a way which mostly belied the Welcome to Hell banners which have traditionally greeted English teams there. The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. ", Jack Connolly added: "That Wesley Sneijder knife launch is disgusting, scum of the earth.". They just looked at me like I was stupid.. zhuri james net worth 2021 / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes The design of the place meant the Leeds players had to take a long walk to the tunnel, flanked by armed police. The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. He can picture the facade as he entered and the floorplan of the area where other injured Leeds fans had congregated; where Speight lay on an operating table, desperate for surgery. In 2014 he was spoken to by a Turkish website, a free man again. [23] The violence, which included fans from other English clubs[24] and Turks living in Denmark,[25] lasted for 45 minutes. [26] There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game. Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. They felt we were overreacting. 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The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. The fan responded: "If you did not know then fair enough but your club certainly did and they should be ashamed of themselves. I genuinely feared for our lives. Ridsdale was told by staff at the hospital that Speight was in a critical condition and needed an urgent transfusion but that the blood had to be paid for. Ridsdale and Leedss operations director, David Spencer, were at a floating restaurant on the Bosphorus when they were phoned to tell them trouble in the centre of Istanbul had resulted in at least two fans being hospitalised. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. [39] Later on, British media blame also transferred towards Galatasaray fans. But in the light of day, the sun hits it and the sparkle lingers. The Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. Given that context and these examples only really scratch the surface of everything that happened in April 2000 there was no way in which a player like Gjanni Alioski could consider leaving Leeds and joining Galatasaray, as he did for many months, without bracing himself for a tense political path and the objection he encountered online. [18] Later, large numbers of Galatasaray fans congregated in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, raising the Turkish flag in the square. Those killed were "attackers", it said. Some claimed the English sparked it by throwing beer glasses at passing women pedestrians. Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. [31] Nineteen of the arrested were British, thirty-six were Turkish and the rest of the arrested included people from Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. The connection was not comparable to Kewells. Ali Sami Yen, the stadium was so overcrowded that he had Galatasaray fans in front of him literally sat on my feet. The next day, he and Leeds players and coaching staff reached the airport, climbed on a plane and flew home. Shes struggled with it more than I have because shes got nothing there. The facilities are great. The Ibrox disaster was a tragedy, an accident, he says. You dont get it.. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. Because I was so young and the memories arent clear, I get times when I ask myself if it really happened. Holly, as a two-year-old, was left with no memories at all. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. [38] The photos led to some postmen working for Royal Mail losing their jobs because they had been seen in the photos and in television coverage,[46] even though they had not been arrested. There was no minutes silence or acknowledgement of the deaths. They stressed as delicately as they could the importance of staying indoors. Your choice, the official replied. Youre a kid. In the context of football, that era was phenomenally good: Leeds in Europe and another trip to the continent always waiting around the corner. [48] In 2001, the tribunal ruled in their favour,[49] and ordered Royal Mail to reinstate them. pleasant grove high school / staff directory; dr omar suleiman wife esraa; ontario road trip summer; song baseball apple; waltham athletic club tennis schedule; galatasaray leeds death. Leeds and Galatasaray fans clashed in violent scenes 21 years agoat 21:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square. I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. This morning the Dutch international tweeted: "Finally my GalatasaraySK knife set is now available and can be delivered everywhere.". Bits of Istanbul werent in control. Menu The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. [7] The ban was supported by UEFA and only 80 tickets were issued to Galatasaray for officials and representatives of the Turkish government. They had no direct contact with Galatasarays security officials but Fallows and Harry Stokoe, Leedss stadium manager, were able to visit the Ali Sami Yen the day before the game to map the venue out. ", Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter with the day's key headlines and transfer news straight into your inbox. It is unobtrusive and reads simply: In memory of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight who died tragically in Istanbul, April 5th 2000. Holmes was there and witnessed the entire away end turning their backs to the pitch with arms raised, an act of silent defiance and dissent. Speights son, George, is no longer the cheeky kid with floppy hair smiling brightly in the photograph of his father he digs out. The story goes that he and his wife Susan got together after he offered her a lift on the back of one. [14] The Arsenal fans left the bar to confront the Galatasaray fans, which led to a fight lasting for an hour before riot police managed to control it and arrested four Britons and four Turks. A fortnight ago, Ridsdale was voted onto the EFLs board. sauce pizza and wine mac and cheese. It is his life and his career, much as the option of Galatasaray was incapable of arising without anyone passing comment. All he recalls about the incident was being woken up by Susan the following morning and told, as softly as it could be broken, that Speight had died. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. They ordered us to pump up the volume, so we did," said Mr Dedeler, 24. The events of the day started early in the morning when skirmishes broke out in a bar, which led to an Arsenal fan being stabbed. I was getting into trouble, drinking and fighting. The images of that never grow old. I cant explain it but I got this weird feeling, he says. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of. [41] It was noted by Turkish newspaper, Radikal that cannabis was being freely traded in the city square during the time before the riots, and the police did nothing about it. Trust us, this is only going to get worse., It didnt go down well, and I got that. There was the time when the pub opened its doors early to allow the locals to catch an early kick-off between Leeds and Manchester United. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. The shadow of Istanbul is longer for Andy Loftus. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. By last night's kick-off, the pools of blood, shattered glass and debris had been cleared away. That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. People know me because of my dad, he says. We had hundreds of fans in Turkey, some in the air and another plane due to fly the following morning (the morning flight out from Leeds-Bradford Airport was rapidly cancelled). Forty Leeds fans arrested in the scuffles were released without charge. When we got to the bottom of the stairs they pulled out a drawer, a bit like a filing cabinet, and Christophers body was there. And thats without even mentioning what had gone on the night before with the two lads who were killed. That decision drew much criticism, as well it might. Tuesday 5th April 2022 marks 22 years since two loyal Leeds United supporters, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, travelled to Turkey to watch their beloved team in action but tragically never returned home. They know what he did for us.. Scuffles broke out but the police moved in and fans scattered. Leeds always kept records of who was travelling and which hotels they were using. The police were knocking everyone about, says Paul Holmes, a friend of the Loftuses who was in Taksim Square when the violence broke out. The first the Leeds players heard of the incident in Taksim Square was when phone calls started reaching them in their hotel. Ridsdale can visualise it all 21 years on: the lay-out of the hospital, the chaos inside, the panicked confusion. The passing of time is there in all of them. A group of rival fans gathered and jeers were exchanged. I dont think, even to this day, that Galatasaray would see the amount of press coverage or criticism as being fairly labelled against them, Ridsdale said last year. Holmes says Andy was the life and soul of the party before Istanbul but the impact of Chriss death was severe. Nigel Martyn has exclusively told LeedsUnited.News that playing against Galatasaray in the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000 - just 24 hours after the murders of two Leeds fans - is to this day, his biggest regret in football. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. [20], After the match, which Galatasaray won 41 on penalties, approximately 300 Arsenal fans in the Finsbury Park area of Islington in London attacked Turkish restaurants and businesses, with bottles being used to break windows. No one meant for it to happen. When the Turkish club flew over for the return leg two weeks later, an occasion as venomous and bitter as any Elland Road has hosted, they railed against Ridsdales request that their fans be banned from travelling. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. 'There were a lot of other clubs out there but this is perfect for me. [37], In the United Kingdom, Arsenal fans were originally blamed for the violence as the police had fixed blame on them. The police had prior warning of potential trouble and deployed 2,000 officers to the area, yet they were unable to control the riot until they fired tear gas. I was amazed, he says. Fatih Terim, Galatasaray's coach, had whipped up his side's supporters. Ill be careful here but I have to say that I felt uncomfortable welcoming Galatasarays delegates to Elland Road. According to a waiter at a nearby restaurant, the Turkish club's fanatical fans had heard through the grapevine that trouble was brewing. At a local police station, at around 4am on April 6, Ridsdale was given a stark message by the UEFA representative who turned up there: play the game, or forfeit it and incur an automatic 3-0 defeat. I could see in their faces how much they were raging, Fallows says. I didnt want to be standing there telling them what to do and I understood that they didnt want to hear it. He said getting involved in charity work and fundraisers, including running half-marathons in memory of his brother, had helped him to deal with his sibling's death. [19] The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans, and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square. He must have been off his head., Ian Harte, the left-back, is more vivid in describing it. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows says. Give our social media channels a follow . We are no longer accepting comments on this article. It also contains a table with average age, cumulative market value and average market value for each player position and overall. Twenty Leeds fans, witnesses to the fight, were interviewed. Then you get your head around whats actually happened. Susan chose not to take the children to Speights funeral. From my point of view I was only interested in getting that game over and done with as safely as possible. The interview included vague expressions of regret but no apology to Speight and Loftus or their relatives. The brothers went to the British Embassy but, in Andys words, found them to be worse than useless. It was a lad from Shipley who I knew, Andy says. At the time he said: 'It was a tragic thing in football but we can't live in the past. After a long legal process in Turkey, four men were jailed in 2010. Leeds had worries on several fronts: maintaining the safety of other fans in the city, helping the relatives of Speight and Loftus in Turkey and at home, and deciding whether the game at the Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. He visited his fathers body in the chapel of rest across the road, bringing pictures he had drawn for him with felt tips. Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. I dont want to imply criticism of the hospital for that, Ridsdale says.