', And: 'Alioski can f*** off, he obviously knows the history between the two clubs.'. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. In the weeks after the deaths, he offered them emotional and financial assistance (the family declined to take any money) and would phone Susan regularly to keep in touch. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. The images are so vivid in Peter Ridsdales mind that he can describe every aspect of the hospital where Speight and Loftus were taken after they were attacked. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. [26] There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game. Through different eyes and different viewpoints, a picture built up of the disregard and indifference with which they had been treated by those they looked to for help. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. Leeds supporters in Istanbul were told to stay in their hotels. For a couple of days afterwards you run on adrenaline, he says. He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. 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). junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . Any time I think about what happened, I ask the same question. Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. The connection was not comparable to Kewells. 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. British fans were outnumbered and chased up side streets. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. ', While a third posted: 'They suit each other. 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. At no stage between arriving at the hospital and Leeds playing the first leg against Galatasaray the following night did Ridsdale sleep. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. Its a strange thing but its important to me. Bitexen Giresunspor 0 - 4 Galatasaray MORE. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. "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. When they came back to Elland Road they thought our request for no away fans was inappropriate. He had been in touch with the Turkish authorities, and with Chief Superintendent Steve Matthews from West Yorkshire police, who travels abroad with Leeds fans on away trips, and his team of three or four officers acting as "spotters". galatasaray leeds deathashtoreth worship practices. Asked shortly afterwards whether he thought the tie would still go ahead, Mr Ridsdale said: "It's too early to say. Two lives lost and two lives wasted, for nothing. I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. Anywhere else in Europe, I doubt it would have been played. Four people were stabbed in the scuffles, which also involved fans from other clubs and were viewed by the media as part of a retaliation for the killing of two Leeds United fans by Galatasaray supporters the month before. 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. They all say no. The 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence in Istanbul, Turkey, between fans of English football team Leeds United and Turkish team Galatasaray before the first match of the UEFA Cup semi-final on 5 April 2000, led to two Leeds fans being stabbed to death by Galatasaray fans. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans being banned from attending the second leg in England. The brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". Later in the evening, a group of around 20 Leeds supporters broke off and found their way to the Riddim bar near Taksim Square, the huge expanse in the centre of Istanbul which was filled with places to eat and drink. I stood there with Eddie Gray, Fallows says. Ill be honest, by the time we were kicking off I had no idea why we were playing. Around them, riot police are standing with shields in the air, protecting the players from what Fallows says was all sorts of things smashing off them. [47] Michael Doherty, the chairman of the Communication Workers Union, and his brother Tom took Royal Mail to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal claiming they had been acting in self-defence. [19] The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans, and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square. [48] In 2001, the tribunal ruled in their favour,[49] and ordered Royal Mail to reinstate them. "Once more English hooligans, once more, blood," said the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper. The Turkish police didnt give a shit about us. Association with the tragedy can be difficult. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. I didnt catch everything but I heard enough. Gray, a Glaswegian, was in the Celtic end with his wife Linda on the day of the Ibrox disaster in 1971. He had been up all night receiving news of the stabbings, inflicted during violence which broke out on the eve of a UEFA Cup tie between Leeds and Galatasaray. Some claimed the English sparked it by throwing beer glasses at passing women pedestrians. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. They reported that as one of them tried to give the kiss of life to Mr Loftus, he was set upon. And many have voiced their opinion on social media following a report by Football Insider that Alioski has agreed a pre-contract to join the rivals in the summer. After travelling to the Turkish capital to follow the club, Mr Speight and Mr Loftus were attacked with machetes when a row broke out between rival fans. Andy is one of six siblings, two sisters and four brothers, and all of the boys Phil, Chris, Darren and Andy made the trip to Turkey. This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. Staff said many fans were drunk by 10pm, intimidating Turkish families drinking in the lounge. Peter Hunt, the British consul general in Istanbul, had been prepared for potential trouble, as are all consuls and embassies when English fans travel abroad. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. UEFA, after a week of consideration, agreed with Leeds. From my point of view I was only interested in getting that game over and done with as safely as possible. It wasnt a proper A&E unit. [23] The violence, which included fans from other English clubs[24] and Turks living in Denmark,[25] lasted for 45 minutes. That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, Leeds players needed protection from police with riot shields before their game against Galatasaray in 2000 (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images). Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Turkish police, according to British of ficials, appeared to be taking the killings as seriously as they would hope. I can only go on what my mum said, but my dad was nothing like that. [25] The British fans were later released without charge but were forbidden from returning to Denmark. You mention him over Farsley way and people respect him. Fatih Terim, Galatasaray's coach, had whipped up his side's supporters. Will Griffee For Mailonline 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'. Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. George understands why but wishes with hindsight that he had been there. 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. I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. They phoned their parents back home but the media had already informed them of Chriss death. I was amazed, he says. Susan chose not to take the children to Speights funeral. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of Leeds' Uefa Cup semi-final tie against Galatasaray in April 2000. Your choice, the official replied. For Leedss staff and players, the details of what had occurred in Taksim Square the night before remained sketchy until after full-time. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. The day after the riots, FA Executive Director David Davies, issued an apology for the violence. She knows who he was but its not the same.. The Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. He liked a drink and a laugh, simple as that, Andy says. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. The city centre was tense but, thanks to a massive police presence, mainly empty. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. Me and the security team tried to create a bit of a cushion between them so the players werent worried about getting batoned, Fallows says. The pair were met by angry, upset and bewildered groups. I didn't know this and deleted our promotion for the merchandise kitchen item #respect. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans . 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. Away tickets were limited to 80, which effectively covered only senior Galatasaray officials. A streetwise Mancunian, he has looked after Oasis, Noel Gallagher and Take That and on the morning when we speak hes at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, organising staff for a gig by The Script. [32] The rest were fined an equivalent of $500 and banned from Denmark for a year.[33]. His financial record at Leeds was dismal and Leeds never forget about it. Ill hear them saying, Thats Kevin Speights lad and I like that. Andys last memory of Chris is of him rolling his eyes sarcastically and ribbing him for leaving early, in brotherly style. [28] In Turkey, nine people were accidentally shot and injured by Galatasaray fans firing guns in celebration despite police warning them not to. People know me because of my dad, he says. Anger: Leeds fans are angry that Galatasaray's Wesley Sneijder has announced a new knife range on the 15th anniversary of the stabbing of two fans in Istanbul, Violence: An injured fan is taken away after riots between Leeds and Galatasaray fans before match in Turkey, Horror: A fan is escorted away from the violence by a police officer after riots between Leeds and Galatasaray fans. Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. The police told us themselves that the shoe-shine boys had been trailing us for a while, waiting to see when some of us had split away from the main group.. [22] The riots did not spread to the stadium, although there was an attempt to pull down the fences by fans heading towards the Arsenal area of the stadium before police stopped them. Speight and Loftus were not close friends but knew each other in passing, as travelling football fans do. Chelsea 1-0 Leeds LIVE: Blues finally find the breakthrough as Wesley Fofana heads home the opener in the second half in a game Graham Potter really needs to win as Brighton and Aston Villa . My mum just felt she had to move on. With CCTV evidence, four men were indicted for murder within a week, including Ali Umit Demir, at whose flat the police found a knife stained with the blood of both victims. 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. Outside, Leeds fans reportedly taunted Turkish men. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. As a free agent, he had a decision to make about how best to look after himself with his 30th birthday coming next year (and in the end, looking after himself meant joining Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia last night). 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. Everyones different., A brass plaque commemorating Speight and Lofus was set into brickwork outside Elland Road in 2001. It was horrible. I like that they remember him. One of 13 Turks arrested in Istanbul has confessed to stabbing Leeds United fan Christopher Loftus, whose body is expected . Soon, they arrived at a flight of steps and a spot which would generate one of the lasting images of the entire tragedy. 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. [10] It was reported that members of Leeds United's Leeds United Service Crew[11] and Chelsea's Chelsea Headhunters, along with hooligans supporting Rangers, Cardiff City and Swansea City all travelled to Denmark to join Arsenal fans in attacks on Galatasaray fans. 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. Galatasaray wanted me from the start. [5] As a result of the stabbings, Leeds United banned Galatasaray fans from attending the second leg at Elland Road, claiming that the safety of fans could not be guaranteed. Wed spoken about doing something beforehand, he says. Scuffles broke out but the police moved in and fans scattered. Even so, the counterargument holds water. You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. 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. Though the versions of Leeds fans and Turkish witnesses are almost entirely at odds, it appears the trouble started in the city's entertainment district outside the Riddim reggae bar in Buyuk Parmakkapi Street. 11 Feb 02 | Europe Turkish justice moves slowly . Galatasaray fans entered the area shortly afterwards which precipitated a fight between the two sets of supporters. OFFICIAL DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR THE VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE MORE. In the early hours of the morning after the death of two Leeds United supporters in Istanbul, Peter Ridsdale met with a delegate from UEFA at one of the citys police stations. 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. Later in the day, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading towards Arsenal fans in bars nearby. Convictions were quashed, appeals were repetitive and it is far from clear how much of their respective sentences were served. How can it be that two lads go to watch a football game and dont come back?. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. zhuri james net worth 2021 / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes I am not sure if the first few expected fighting but I saw one guy running to a telephone to call his friends after he saw the English. "We did amazing business in one hour. It is his life and his career, much as the option of Galatasaray was incapable of arising without anyone passing comment. But it had to be done., In the circumstances, did it surprise Fallows that the game in Istanbul went ahead? Galatasaray 2 - 1 Fraport TAV Antalyaspor MORE. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. 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. He had been involved in the plane crash which Leeds players and coaches escaped from on the way home from a Premier League game at West Ham United in 1998. Andy has paid for the plaque to be cleaned a couple of times and it could do with another polish now. [6] Demir was later found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, but released in 2004. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; "a huge occasion for the club in a football sense," Ridsdale says. Thats what they were, kids. Loftuss brother Andy jokes that he had thicker hair back in the day. We could only do what we thought was best at that moment. The journey to the stadium prior to kick-off made him wish he had forfeited it and taken the consequences. I say that as someone who was back at his hotel when the stabbings occurred, he would be one of the last people to blame. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. They ploughed on regardless, much like UEFA, and left Ridsdale thinking that their directors were more worried about distancing themselves from the stabbings than helping Leeds cope with them. I could see in their faces how much they were raging, Fallows says. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic.. As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United, Liverpool, Galatasaray, Melbourne Victory, Al-Gharafa and Melbourne Heart. [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. He sees it now as a necessary shock to the system. The death of the two Leeds fans in street fighting in central Istanbul on Wednesday turned Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium into an armed camp, with 10,000 police patrolling in and around the . Former Leeds United Chairman Peter Ridsdale said: "The lasting impact has been to see the devastating effect it's had on Christopher and Kevin's families.

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