Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; a huge occasion for the club in a football sense, Ridsdale says. From 5pm local time more than 100 Leeds fans had arrived shouting, singing and demanding beer, according to Batu Dedeler, the bar owner. I feel everything: anger, sadness. Gray remembers OLeary going out of the team hotel to visit a barbers for a shave beforehand. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. 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. [6] Demir was later found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, but released in 2004. Who really cares?. I like that they remember him. Everything happened in a flash. When they landed at Leeds-Bradford airport, a Leeds United club car was waiting to pick them up from the runaway, avoiding the cameras waiting inside. I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. 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. ', While a third posted: 'They suit each other. 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. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. British fans were outnumbered and chased up side streets. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. 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. For Leedss staff and players, the details of what had occurred in Taksim Square the night before remained sketchy until after full-time. Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. ", "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. George has no recollection of his dad leaving for Istanbul or of him saying goodbye. Ridsdale agreed to send his wife and other officials back but instructed a car to take him and Spencer to Taksim Hospital. Then a good mate of mine appeared and said thered been a bit of trouble. We switched on the telly and it was all over the news, George says. Its a game. The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. The Turkish police didnt give a shit about us. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Its a strange thing but its important to me. A couple of lads came back to the hotel on their own and when I asked where the rest of them were, they didnt know. [13], On the Wednesday at 1:00, Galatasaray fans attacked a bar in Strget in Copenhagen, where some Arsenal fans were located. One of 13 Turks arrested in Istanbul has confessed to stabbing Leeds United fan Christopher Loftus, whose body is expected . The families of the victims will tell you that. 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. By last night's kick-off, the pools of blood, shattered glass and debris had been cleared away. 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. 2023 BBC. As. It is regarded as a significant act of betrayal by many fans for a Leeds player to join Galatasaray. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. The plaque on the wall by Elland Roads East Stand says Never Forgotten and Leeds United swore themselves to those words. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. 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. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. [23] The violence, which included fans from other English clubs[24] and Turks living in Denmark,[25] lasted for 45 minutes. 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. David Davies, the Football Association's executive director, called it "frankly, the least worst option". 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. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. 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. 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. It was horrible. The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. It shows all personal information about the players, including age, nationality, contract duration and market value. Within minutes, a pitched battle erupted. [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. 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. [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. She knows who he was but its not the same.. Leeds United fans' deaths in Turkey 20 years ago 'feels like - BBC 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. 2000 fights between English and Turkish football fans. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. One wrote: 'If Alioski goes there, his high regard and reputation with Leeds fans is destroyed!! [21] This lasted 20 minutes[19] before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with dogs[22] and tear gas. [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. At no stage between arriving at the hospital and Leeds playing the first leg against Galatasaray the following night did Ridsdale sleep. For me, it didnt feel real. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. Several fans offered to foot the bill. 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. By 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. Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. I just said to them, Good luck., Galatasarays reputation went before them. 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. Exclusive: Leeds icon Martyn on 21st anniversary of Galatasaray murders Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of Leeds' Uefa Cup semi-final tie against Galatasaray in April 2000. We were just trying to control the worst situation imaginable.. They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". The brothers went to the British Embassy but, in Andys words, found them to be worse than useless. I stopped getting involved eventually, Andy says. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. Leeds' bitter hatred towards the Turkish side is no secret after two of their supporters, Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight, were stabbed to death by Galatasaray fans prior to the UEFA Cup. Within an hour of the stabbings in central Istanbul, some of David OLearys squad emerged to speak to him. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans . They then broke into an apartment building to threaten Kosovan refugees with a knife, mistakenly believing them to be Turkish. 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. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. Kevin Fallows was the clubs head of security and travelled with the players to all their fixtures in Europe. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. Both had numerous other wounds. But he was not and the atmosphere was initially warmer than normal. Leeds fans furious as Alioski's move to Galatasaray nears completion [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.
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