I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. When the hospital said they were short of blood supplies, Ridsdale sent his chauffeur off to get more. [30] In total, nineteen people were injured and sixty people were arrested,[27] with 15 of the arrested being subsequently banned from attending Euro 2000. That decision drew much criticism, as well it might. Eddie Gray is crouching down as he runs up from underground and into the open air. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. lisa left eye zodiac sign Search. I heard the rumours that some Leeds fan wiped his arse with a Turkey flag and things like that but people tell me none of its true. I make no secret of that., Leeds were beaten 2-0 in Istanbul and lost over two legs after a 2-2 draw at home. The Turkish media tried to blame English fans for provoking the violence by being drunk and disrespecting the Turkish flag. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. Bowyer leads out the Leeds team as the first leg went ahead (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images), A minutes silence is observed before the return leg at Elland Road (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images). One Love was a controlled situation. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. In contrast, what Leeds saw in Galatasaray was a baffling lack of sympathy. Wed spoken about doing something beforehand, he says. 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. They have nothing but good words for Ridsdales conduct and nothing but gratitude for his support. In Turkey, two supporters were murdered. Leeds Crown Court sentenced him to 12 months. Shes struggled with it more than I have because shes got nothing there. The pair were met by angry, upset and bewildered groups. Gray remembers OLeary going out of the team hotel to visit a barbers for a shave beforehand. [34] The Copenhagen riots followed a long line of similar events involving English football fans, and in June, UEFA's executive committee listed the Heysel Stadium disaster, disorders in Charleroi and Brussels, the killing of the two Leeds fans in Istanbul, and the Copenhagen riots and warned the British government that if there was any more rioting then England would be expelled from Euro 2000. The families of the victims will tell you that. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. Speight and Loftus were not close friends but knew each other in passing, as travelling football fans do. As a family, I dont know how you come to terms with that., Inside the Ali Sami Yen, hundreds of Leeds supporters attended the first leg as planned and were housed in a small section of yellow seats. Friends and family of Speight and Loftus had congregated there and other Leeds fans were waiting with more minor injuries, some of them slash wounds. Theyd turned on their tellies and it was all over the Turkish news, Fallows says. A lot of what went on I dont want to know. Speight was with a group of Leeds fans attacked by Turkish locals outside a bar by Istanbuls Taksim Square, sustaining a slash wound to his stomach. Theyd been seeing each other for about six months.. He visited his fathers body in the chapel of rest across the road, bringing pictures he had drawn for him with felt tips. David Davies, the Football Association's executive director, called it "frankly, the least worst option". On April 5 2000 two Leeds fans, Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus, were stabbed to death before the 2000 Uefa Cup semi-final first leg against Galatasaray in Taksim Square, Istanbul. George is different. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. Early relaxation gave way to brutal battle as rivals taunted each other, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. You dont take much notice of whats said because youre out there for a beer and a laugh. It was only when Gray arrived home that his parents asked if he was OK and told him about the many Rangers fans who had died. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. After a long legal process in Turkey, four men were jailed in 2010. Then you turn around and Kevin and Chris are lying there., In the hospitals waiting area, Andy overheard a voice saying that one of the fatalities was one of the four brothers. Bitexen Giresunspor 0 - 4 Galatasaray MORE. Fallows is convinced that Galatasaray and the Turkish police made deliberate attempts to rattle and unsettle away teams, forcing players to squeeze through tight lines of officers to gain entry to the ground and admitting thousands of home fans to the stadium hours before kick-off. Scuffles broke out but the police moved in and fans scattered. [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. Peter Ridsdale, the chairman who guided Leeds through the tragedy, is approaching 70. Everything was muddled. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. His brother was following behind us and, quite understandably, he lost it. 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. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Even so, the counterargument holds water. The authorities imposed sentences on some of those who had originally escaped justice with Suleyman Gokhan Guven, Ali Baydar and Yilmaz Tutus given ten, six and five years in prison respectively. I spent the whole night thinking, What are we doing here? And when the Leeds fans turned their backs to the pitch, total respect to them because the football meant nothing. "When you see a man having to identify the body of his brother with a massive stab wound in his chest it just isn't what you'd associate with football.". There was the time when he was caught stealing two pounds from the pub till and sent by Speight to sit in the office until Susan came home to read the riot act. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. I am happy and I hope everyone else can be too. 2023 BBC. Convention required the directors of the clubs involved in a European tie to share a meal with UEFA delegates the night before the game and Galatasaray arranged the gathering, not far from the Kempinski Hotel where Leedss players and directors were staying. Mr Loftus's brother Andy said: "I know it may seem a long time but it's still very much like yesterday really.". Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of Leeds' Uefa Cup semi-final tie against Galatasaray in April 2000. galatasaray leeds death. I didnt feel that their response was what our response would have been. "Once more English hooligans, once more, blood," said the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. Soon, they arrived at a flight of steps and a spot which would generate one of the lasting images of the entire tragedy. For players and supporters alike, this has become one of the most fraught and difficult venues in Europe. On April 5 2000 two Leeds fans, Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus, were stabbed to death before the 2000 Uefa Cup semi-final first leg against Galatasaray in Taksim Square, Istanbul. The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. I dont think a single one of the lads wanted to play that night.. You dont get it.. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. [44], In the United Kingdom, the Daily Mirror newspaper printed pictures of Arsenal fans alleged to have been part of the violence. Its completely different. The man named as the prime suspect in the killings, a cafe owner named Ali Umit Demir, was arrested by Turkish police within days and he and three other Turks were later convicted in court. [18] Later, large numbers of Galatasaray fans congregated in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, raising the Turkish flag in the square. Convictions were quashed, appeals were repetitive and it is far from clear how much of their respective sentences were served. [37] Leeds United also banned three of their fans from Elland Road after they had been identified in pictures of the riots. Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. He had travelled to the hospital where injured fans were being treated and arranged payment for a blood transfusion for Kevin Speight, one of the two who died. 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. The loss ofKevin Speight and Christopher Loftus is still felt incredibly deeply and the feud between the clubs remains. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. 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 . Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. The away crowd emptied after Rangers late equaliser without realising what had unfolded inside the ground. Im not sure Ive even processed it now. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows says. He must have been off his head., Ian Harte, the left-back, is more vivid in describing it. Fans in nearby bars remained unaware of the violence. In May 2002 Demir, who admitted the stabbings, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with four other men imprisoned for three months each. The fan responded: "If you did not know then fair enough but your club certainly did and they should be ashamed of themselves. 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. Kewell was quoted after joining Galatasaray as saying that to blame Galatasaray for the tragedy in Istanbul is simply wrong and discriminatory. So Leeds did. Loftus had already been pronounced dead and in the melee, hospital staff mistakenly assumed Ridsdale was a relative and took him downstairs to the mortuary. The brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". 'There were a lot of other clubs out there but this is perfect for me. Acquittal plea in soccer death trial. They didnt care., The Speights were different and left the criminal cases alone. Wed heard that Istanbul could be a bit dangerous but we never thought anything of it, Andy says. He was on the scene as the club grieved and as much as any other of David OLearys players, he was in a position to fully comprehend both the impact of the killings and Galatasarays response to them. It was a lad from Shipley who I knew, Andy says. In 2014 he was spoken to by a Turkish website, a free man again. The police were knocking everyone about, says Paul Holmes, a friend of the Loftuses who was in Taksim Square when the violence broke out. He died in an operating theatre in the early hours of the morning, despite Leeds United paying for blood supplies to be rushed to him. Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. By the time the match kicked off, the ramifications of two fatal stabbings the previous evening were rapidly sinking in and for those who were closest to it, the images wont fade. The first time he went inside to be present, he sat with friends and cried. 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. ', While a third posted: 'They suit each other. [15] In the fight, Paul Dineen, an Arsenal fan, was stabbed, leading to Arsenal offering fans refunds if they did not want to fly to the game. The brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . Ridsdale is someone the Speights hold in high regard. There were reports that a Galatasaray fan had run to a telephone to call for support when he saw Leeds fans arriving. [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. I can only go on what my mum said, but my dad was nothing like that. "It's just a bit of a rollercoaster ride really but we get by," he said. They knew there had been trouble but the club made an effort to hold back some detail on the basis that if the game went ahead, they would need to concentrate on it. "There's a lot of anger. The blood had to be sourced externally and to do that, someone had to pay. We had a coach for the players and a coach for the directors, he says. Gala is an awful football club and Alioski is an awful footballer. I was amazed, he says. Some Arsenal fans reacted negatively to the news, claiming that there was still bad blood between the two sets of supporters and were concerned that there would be a resumption of hostilities between them.[51]. Trust us, this is only going to get worse., It didnt go down well, and I got that. Asked shortly afterwards whether he thought the tie would still go ahead, Mr Ridsdale said: "It's too early to say. We tried to raise awareness but it was a farce. Istanbul was like no other event he has dealt with. Forty Leeds fans arrested in the scuffles were released without charge. It also contains a table with average age, cumulative market value and average market value for each player position and overall. It is unobtrusive and reads simply: In memory of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight who died tragically in Istanbul, April 5th 2000. I jumped in a taxi and went back to Taksim Square., He has no recollection of how he came to be at Taksim Hospital, only that he found himself there after being told that the fighting had been serious. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. 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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Leeds supporters who were present denied causing trouble and the UK coroner who presided over the inquest, David Hinchliff, stated in unequivocal terms that Speight and Loftus were the innocent victims of a deliberate ambush. When they came back to Elland Road they thought our request for no away fans was inappropriate. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Your choice, the official replied. George understands why but wishes with hindsight that he had been there. We tried to keep a lot of the information about what had happened [to Speight and Loftus] from them, rightly or wrongly. Its that attitude of, They must have gone looking for it. All the stuff about cars being tipped over, us disrespecting their women if youd been there, youd know. It sounds daft but I dont think I knew how to react. [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. Galatasaray football player Wesley Sneijder has released a commemorative knife set - on the 15th anniversary of the fatal stabbing of two Leeds fans by Turkish supporters. 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. Later in the day, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading towards Arsenal fans in bars nearby. 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. When the press came round, me and my cousin would bounce on my bed to try and get in the photos and in the papers. For a couple of days afterwards you run on adrenaline, he says. 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. As kick-off drew near, the drums and the noise from the stadium filtered down to the Ali Sami Yens subterranean dressing rooms. People speak well of him. You were dealing with young lads and the last thing you wanted to do was scare them.. [50] In 2012 Piers Morgan, the editor of the Daily Mirror at the time and a high-profile Arsenal fan who attended the match, apologised for printing the pictures. 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. Matt White tweeted: "Wesley Sneijder tweeting a personalised Galatasaray knife set on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 2 Leeds fans in Istanbul? Jesus. 11 Feb 02 | Europe Turkish justice moves slowly . The plaque on the wall by Elland Roads East Stand says Never Forgotten and Leeds United swore themselves to those words. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. You ask them one by one if 20 years have helped them process what happened. #RIPChrisAndKev. 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. 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. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans being banned from attending the second leg in England. Then a good mate of mine appeared and said thered been a bit of trouble. 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. Galatasaray 3-2 HangiKredi mraniyespor MORE. "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. Its funny what sticks in your head, he says. Football riots in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark (May 2000). ", "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. Others that the Turks precipitated it by throwing chairs. [30] A Danish police officer[22] and a Turkish cameraman were also injured in the riots. The atmosphere was electric like, scarily electric. [45] It later arose that the majority of the people in the photos were either not involved or had been acting in self-defence. Turkish eye-witnesses accused Leeds fans of insulting women, defacing the Turkish flag, urinating in the street and tipping over a car. People know me because of my dad, he says. Manchester United and Chelsea had contested European ties at the Ali Sami Yen previously and voiced complaints about their treatment, so Fallows increased the size of Leedss usual security detail from three to five as a precaution. sauce pizza and wine mac and cheese. 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. They had been a couple since their teens. 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. [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. [37], In the United Kingdom, Arsenal fans were originally blamed for the violence as the police had fixed blame on them. 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). 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. They reported that as one of them tried to give the kiss of life to Mr Loftus, he was set upon. 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. "They came into town to see. I thought about Graeme Souness running and planting a Galatasaray flag in the middle of the pitch at Fenerbahce. And worse things too. [20], Then, in a calculated attack, approximately 500 Arsenal fans[19] attacked from the main road behind the Galatasaray fans. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. As. Devastated., The next 24 hours were a blur. Galatasaray fans attempted to provoke the Arsenal fans in the bars, and the two sides began chanting at each other until bottles were thrown from both sides around 16:00. 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. But if you back out, youll forfeit the game and incur a 3-0 defeat. We werent talking about Leeds General Infirmary. Speights treatment failed to save him. The facilities are great. Hello Hell, We Are Leeds, read one banner carried by fans piling through Istanbul airport on Wednesday night. You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". Andy got a pint at the bar. I think you just go into a downward spiral. "I haven't seen a single Englishman all day," said a newspaper vendor. OFFICIAL DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR THE VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE MORE. I knew the ramifications would be life-long., (Photo: Phil Noble PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images), Ali Sami Yen previously and voiced complaints about their treatment, so Fallows increased the size of Leedss usual security detail from three to five as a precaution. We switched on the telly and it was all over the news, George says. He was showered with stickers and sweets gifts from friends who lived locally and Ridsdale, who supported both families throughout, delivered Easter eggs to the house for him and Holly. The manager of Leeds, David O'Leary, had voiced fears of being met at the airport by "a 100-strong rentamob". Galatasaray 2-1 Trabzonspor MORE. As injured and angry Leeds fans came through, he did what he could. According to a waiter at a nearby restaurant, the Turkish club's fanatical fans had heard through the grapevine that trouble was brewing. 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.