[19] The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans, and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square. Ali Umit Demir, was arrested by Turkish police within days and he and three other Turks were later convicted in court. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. A group of rival fans gathered and jeers were exchanged. 13:02 EST 23 Mar 2021 Arsenal qualified for the final by defeating French club Lens in their semi-final. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows says. ", Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter with the day's key headlines and transfer news straight into your inbox. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. Galatasaray 3-2 HangiKredi mraniyespor MORE. But when it came to Istanbul, he and the club were remarkable in reacting quickly and with compassion. This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. 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. The loss ofKevin Speight and Christopher Loftus is still felt incredibly deeply and the feud between the clubs remains. The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. 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I prefer to go to the plaque at Elland Road, he says. [30] A Danish police officer[22] and a Turkish cameraman were also injured in the riots. He was eight when the deaths occurred and he was 25 when he came to England as a professional. [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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? George understands why but wishes with hindsight that he had been there. "There was nothing in the days running up to this match to suggest there would be this level of violence," Mr Hunt said. When the second leg came round, in the dressing room we were trying to say, Come on, lets get stuck into them. But in the back of your mind youre putting football aside. Anyone can read what . "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. My mum flicked it straight off again. (Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt AMA/Getty Images). Mr Loftus from a plunging wound to his heart; Mr Speight, a few hours later after receiving a wound the length of his stomach. Something went wrong, please try again later. Leeds supporters in Istanbul were told to stay in their hotels. I didnt feel that their response was what our response would have been. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. We tried to raise awareness but it was a farce. Send any friend a story. 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. It didnt sit right with me. [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. Andys last memory of Chris is of him rolling his eyes sarcastically and ribbing him for leaving early, in brotherly style. More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. [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. 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. 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. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. [2] The events happened at 22:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square during a fight between Leeds fans and Galatasaray fans. Everything happened in a flash. But the Leeds fans do not see it that way. Its 20 years now but I dont think Ill ever get over it. It was horrible. 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. No one meant for it to happen. One of our security lads had to go with the bus to a compound, some sort of a lock-up. 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. The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. In 2014 he was spoken to by a Turkish website, a free man again. "Once more English hooligans, once more, blood," said the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of. 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. I stopped getting involved eventually, Andy says. Will Griffee For Mailonline 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. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. 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 . I thought about Graeme Souness running and planting a Galatasaray flag in the middle of the pitch at Fenerbahce. Spencer interrupted dinner to advise Ridsdale that they should return to the hotel immediately. It is unobtrusive and reads simply: In memory of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight who died tragically in Istanbul, April 5th 2000. Gray, a Glaswegian, was in the Celtic end with his wife Linda on the day of the Ibrox disaster in 1971. [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. Galatasaray supporters, despite everything that had gone on, were pelting the buses and trying to smash the windows. Turkish Prime Minister Blent Ecevit also made a call for fans to avoid violence after the riots, stating: Sports should be an initiative for friendship, not for fighting. Menu And I still blame myself a lot.. BBC News | EUROPE | Turkey still angry over fans' behaviour 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]. Turkish man jailed for stabbing deaths of Leeds fans on the 20th anniversary of the killings in Istanbul. ', And: 'Alioski can f*** off, he obviously knows the history between the two clubs.'. A week or so later, we lost 4-0 to Arsenal. The first time he went inside to be present, he sat with friends and cried. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans . Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. For a couple of days afterwards you run on adrenaline, he says. 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. The story goes that he and his wife Susan got together after he offered her a lift on the back of one. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, George and Holly Speight with Peter Ridsdale after their fathers death. I think those who arrived later knew what to expect.". Read about our approach to external linking. Galatasaray tragedy will stay with Leeds United and Eirik Bakke forever , updated Man United respond to Leeds hostility with thrilling win as Harry I was amazed, he says. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. She knows who he was but its not the same.. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. We werent talking about Leeds General Infirmary. Speights treatment failed to save him. Those killed were "attackers", it said. Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. 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. . One Love was a controlled situation. Right up to the attack, I didnt see any trouble. Other fans in Istanbul spoke of isolated incidents here and there but nothing serious. [44], In the United Kingdom, the Daily Mirror newspaper printed pictures of Arsenal fans alleged to have been part of the violence. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. People speak well of him. junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . 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. 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. ", Jack Connolly added: "That Wesley Sneijder knife launch is disgusting, scum of the earth.". No question.. He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. galatasaray leeds death It was how away days in Europe played out. [3] Leeds fans had been drinking in bars reportedly taunting local people and Turkish police intervened to stop fights breaking out. 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. The eggs were massive and I was chuffed to bits with mine, he says. 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. Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. 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. I know bits and bats but it doesnt help me to go over it, he says. Any time I think about what happened, I ask the same question. Some headed for the James Joyce pub 200 metres away and joined a sing-song against Galatasaray. The Ibrox disaster was a tragedy, an accident, he says. 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. The Turkish police didnt give a shit about us. [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. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. [21] This lasted 20 minutes[19] before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with dogs[22] and tear gas. 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. My mum just felt she had to move on. 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. Others that the Turks precipitated it by throwing chairs. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. 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. Uefa, after consultation with the clubs and the Turkish authorities, wavered but eventually decided to go ahead. 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. Massive riots Galatasaray - Leeds / Arsenal 2000 - YouTube Leeds had taken over an entire corridor at the five-star Kempinski and the squad were in their rooms, ready to sleep ahead of the game the next night. [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. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. 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. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. Loftus, 35, was a telephone engineer and an easy-going lad. The pair were met by angry, upset and bewildered groups. They will never be forgotten.. The shadow of Istanbul is longer for Andy Loftus. I can only go on what my mum said, but my dad was nothing like that. galatasaray leeds death; marfan criteria calculator; galatasaray leeds death. It wasnt a proper A&E unit. Matt White tweeted: "Wesley Sneijder tweeting a personalised Galatasaray knife set on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 2 Leeds fans in Istanbul? I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. 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. I knew the ramifications would be life-long.. Several fans offered to foot the bill. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. [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. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. The Turkish. They all say no. [26] There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game. Everything was muddled. From my point of view I was only interested in getting that game over and done with as safely as possible. For George, the clearest memories of his dad are few and slightly random. The Turkish media blamed the Leeds fans. 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. The facilities are great. Galatasaray player apologises to Leeds fans for knife tweet Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were killed in Istanbul, Turkey, in April 2000, Their deaths had left a "lasting impact" on their families, a former Leeds United chairman said. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. They had been a couple since their teens. Staff said many fans were drunk by 10pm, intimidating Turkish families drinking in the lounge. 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. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. 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. Rory Carroll in Istanbul and Martin Wainwright. They felt we were overreacting. In all the many layers of anger, that was one of them; the apparent inability to adopt some common decency. One of 13 Turks arrested in Istanbul has confessed to stabbing Leeds United fan Christopher Loftus, whose body is expected . "Their chanting should make Ali Sami Yen [the Galatasaray stadium] hell for Leeds United.". "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 a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. 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. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". A few hours later two Leeds supporters, Kevin Speight, 40, and Christopher Loftus, 37, were dead from stab wounds. Away tickets were limited to 80, which effectively covered only senior Galatasaray officials. It might be fair to say that the events of 2000 are a reason to dissuade a footballer with ties to Leeds from engaging with Galatasaray but not necessarily to prohibit him from signing, especially as time goes by. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. 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. 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. The police claim he was punched. galatasaray leeds death. Jesus. Obviously he liked his football too. 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. I am happy and I hope everyone else can be too. 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". 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. 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. Later in the day, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading towards Arsenal fans in bars nearby. 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. Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch international who . 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 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. The bodies were repatriated a few days later, beginning the process of mourning and funerals. Can you list the top facts and stats about 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence? You ask them one by one if 20 years have helped them process what happened. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. 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. I didnt want to be standing there telling them what to do and I understood that they didnt want to hear it. [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. The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. 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. George is different. 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. Ill be honest, by the time we were kicking off I had no idea why we were playing. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. [36], In August 2000, Arsenal banned thirty-seven people involved in the Copenhagen riot from Arsenal's Highbury stadium. He sees it now as a necessary shock to the system. I didn't know this and deleted our promotion for the merchandise kitchen item #respect. I just said to them, Good luck., Galatasarays reputation went before them. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. Following the two tragic deaths, local police arrested and charged four Galatasaray supporters with murder. I dont know why.. Trust us, this is only going to get worse., It didnt go down well, and I got that. Both families come here each April 5, to lay flowers and let another year pass. 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. You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. He described the Turkish policing as diabolical and out of control. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. There was no minutes silence or acknowledgement of the deaths. Every year, the families of Kevin Speight and Chris Loftus place wreathes at the plaque and go together for a drink, to catch up and reflect. If you ask me now if I made the right or wrong decision by playing it, I still dont know, Ridsdale says. Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. 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. 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. As. When the hospital said they were short of blood supplies, Ridsdale sent his chauffeur off to get more. Try a week on us. 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. Gjanni Alioski Leeds to Galatasaray transfer talks end for - TEAMtalk Holmes says Andy was the life and soul of the party before Istanbul but the impact of Chriss death was severe. Last year, on the 20th anniversary of the killings in Istanbul, The Athletic spoke to some of the people closest to the tragedy and some of the people most affected by it. The police were knocking everyone about, says Paul Holmes, a friend of the Loftuses who was in Taksim Square when the violence broke out. 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. 15:32 EST 23 Mar 2021. The atmosphere was electric like, scarily electric. 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. But if you back out, youll forfeit the game and incur a 3-0 defeat. 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. Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. In the context of football, that era was phenomenally good: Leeds in Europe and another trip to the continent always waiting around the corner. By then, you knew exactly what had gone on and you knew the severity of it. Thats what they were, kids. 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 brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". And thats without even mentioning what had gone on the night before with the two lads who were killed. 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.
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