It's a fantastic city and I'm willing to learn. 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. 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. Kewell was quoted after joining Galatasaray as saying that to blame Galatasaray for the tragedy in Istanbul is simply wrong and discriminatory. Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. 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. 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". After taking stock, he got involved with the cancer charity Candlelighters and helped raise almost 150,000 for local hospital facilities. 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. 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. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows says. This morning the Dutch international tweeted: "Finally my GalatasaraySK knife set is now available and can be delivered everywhere.". [2] To this day, it is used as a tribute every time the anniversary comes round. The brothers went to the British Embassy but, in Andys words, found them to be worse than useless. Six people were arrested and three Metropolitan Police officers were injured. galatasaray leeds death. Its 20 years now but I dont think Ill ever get over it. [37] Leeds United also banned three of their fans from Elland Road after they had been identified in pictures of the riots. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. Turkish police, according to British of ficials, appeared to be taking the killings as seriously as they would hope. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. 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. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. For me, it didnt feel real. 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. Can you list the top facts and stats about 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence? Try a week on us. A week or so later, we lost 4-0 to Arsenal. "They were using very bad language," said Abdul Garlad, a manager. It shows all personal information about the players, including age, nationality, contract duration and market value. 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. It was a load of shit. 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. Forty Leeds fans arrested in the scuffles were released without charge. I feel sorry for her, George says. 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'. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Leeds will on Saturday afternoon mark 15 years since the deaths of supporters Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed by a Galatasaray fan in April 2000. [21] This lasted 20 minutes[19] before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with dogs[22] and tear gas. In contrast, what Leeds saw in Galatasaray was a baffling lack of sympathy. 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. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. 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. 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 . [18] Arsenal fans congregated in nearby bars. [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. It is wrong to presume to tell those who were affected by the events in Istanbul how to feel or how to react to a player taking Galatasarays money. Others suggested a group of Leeds supporters had attacked a lone Turk, possibly a taxi driver, who had then returned with a mob wielding knives and machetes. Gray, a Glaswegian, was in the Celtic end with his wife Linda on the day of the Ibrox disaster in 1971. One of our security lads had to go with the bus to a compound, some sort of a lock-up. Galatasaray 2 - 1 Fraport TAV Antalyaspor MORE. 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. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. Away tickets were limited to 80, which effectively covered only senior Galatasaray officials. [3] Leeds fans had been drinking in bars reportedly taunting local people and Turkish police intervened to stop fights breaking out. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, George and Holly Speight with Peter Ridsdale after their fathers death. 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. "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.". Galatasaray 3-2 HangiKredi mraniyespor MORE. 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. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. Everyones different., A brass plaque commemorating Speight and Lofus was set into brickwork outside Elland Road in 2001. You were dealing with young lads and the last thing you wanted to do was scare them.. Give our social media channels a follow . 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. 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. Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. At the hotel, Phil went up to his room. This caused a severe riot in the city square, with several restaurant facilities used by fans to fight each other, with iron bars and knives also being used. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; a huge occasion for the club in a football sense, Ridsdale says. 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. British fans were outnumbered and chased up side streets.
At no stage between arriving at the hospital and Leeds playing the first leg against Galatasaray the following night did Ridsdale sleep. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. 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. Welcome to Hell, Galatasaray liked to say. After a long legal process in Turkey, four men were jailed in 2010. When he arrived at the hospital, Darren was in a bed with head injuries. Eddie Gray is crouching down as he runs up from underground and into the open air. 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 brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. The bodies were repatriated a few days later, beginning the process of mourning and funerals. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. My mum just felt she had to move on. Shes struggled with it more than I have because shes got nothing there. They carried beer glasses outside, we couldn't stop them, and others followed." 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. But it had to be done., In the circumstances, did it surprise Fallows that the game in Istanbul went ahead? 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. For players and supporters alike, this has become one of the most fraught and difficult venues in Europe. We tried to keep a lot of the information about what had happened [to Speight and Loftus] from them, rightly or wrongly. One wrote: 'If Alioski goes there, his high regard and reputation with Leeds fans is destroyed!! Leeds head of security at the game recalled police officers lining the corridors in Galatasarays ground as the players emerged from the dressing room; an attempt, in his eyes, to intimidate them as they prepared to go onto the pitch. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. Bits of Istanbul werent in control. Even so, the counterargument holds water. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Life is good. Both had numerous other wounds. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. The police did nothing, in fact they were helping them beat us up." Everything happened in a flash. I genuinely feared for our lives. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. That decision drew much criticism, as well it might. The only thing I could compare it to is the One Love concert in Manchester (held after the terrorist bombing at the Manchester Arena in 2017) and thats purely because of how difficult the logistics of One Love were, he says. [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. Another picture, taken by the Yorkshire Evening Posts Mark Bickerdike, shows Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate stepping from the tunnel with tangible shock on their faces. OFFICIAL DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR THE VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE MORE. 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. I feel everything: anger, sadness. Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. At this juncture, it should be said that Kewell and Alioski were not identical. The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. It was completely against your idea of law and order. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. Obviously he liked his football too. Theyd been seeing each other for about six months.. I knew the ramifications would be life-long.. Send any friend a story. I looked at Eddie, he looked at me, we smiled a nervous smile and both said the same thing: Lets go.. The way the police and the authorities were with us. You mention him over Farsley way and people respect him. Leeds and Galatasaray fans clashed in violent scenes in April 2000 at 21:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square Following the two tragic deaths, local police arrested and charged four Galatasaray. George is different. [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. UEFA, after a week of consideration, agreed with Leeds. [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. A fortnight ago, Ridsdale was voted onto the EFLs board. Alioski was not part of that history but the history exists and the real story here far more significant than Alioski or any other footballer per se is the absence of any reconciliation over a night which feels as raw to those who witnessed it now as it did two decades ago; the lasting bitterness produced by a vacuum of empathy. 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. 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. Its a strange thing but its important to me. The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. The slit-throat gestures from fans as we arrived on the bus. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. The pair were met by angry, upset and bewildered groups. Its a game. What they were seeing was pretty graphic so we said to them, Turn the tellies off, go to bed and wait for us to get some proper details. The footage was grainy and frightening, capturing a helpless Loftus with bloodstains on his shirt. Some claimed the English sparked it by throwing beer glasses at passing women pedestrians. Andy Loftus had flown to watch the match with his brother. 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. It sunk in quickly once we got home. The city centre was tense but, thanks to a massive police presence, mainly empty. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. I am happy and I hope everyone else can be too. Ridsdale agreed to send his wife and other officials back but instructed a car to take him and Spencer to Taksim Hospital. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). 'There were a lot of other clubs out there but this is perfect for me. 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. He started shouting for Christopher to wake up. The second leg was totally different. And others, like Eddie Gray and Ian Harte, have moved on with their lives. Football and Leedss financial collapse made Ridsdale persona non grata at Elland Road but George says his mums face lit up when she heard that he was being interviewed for this article. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. "We did amazing business in one hour. He was eight when the deaths occurred and he was 25 when he came to England as a professional. 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. I think those who arrived later knew what to expect.". 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). My mum always says the same: Hed gone out there for the football, nothing else. The Ibrox disaster was a tragedy, an accident, he says. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. The Turkish. Both had numerous other wounds. [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. He must have been off his head., Ian Harte, the left-back, is more vivid in describing it. On the 21st anniversary of Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus' deaths on April 5 2000, Martyn also recalls the immediate reaction of the Leeds squad . There was no minutes silence or acknowledgement of the deaths.
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