There isnt much that unnerves me but that was quite a scary moment. Loftus, 35, was a telephone engineer and an easy-going lad. Leeds had worries on several fronts: maintaining the safety of other fans in the city, helping the relatives of Speight and Loftus in Turkey and at home, and deciding whether the game at the Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. The way the police and the authorities were with us. And thats without even mentioning what had gone on the night before with the two lads who were killed. Gala is an awful football club and Alioski is an awful footballer. No question.. The slit-throat gestures from fans as we arrived on the bus. Istanbul was life and death and more than focusing on Alioski himself, the attention on him generated by the very prospect of a move to Turkey itself should make us ask why it was ever allowed to come to this; a horrific episode which offered no chance of peace or proper closure. 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. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. Harry Kewell is in front of him, carrying a ball and looking bewildered. His financial record at Leeds was dismal and Leeds never forget about it. It was obvious that Galatasaray were making no concession for what had taken place, so that was our form of protest. 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. Its funny what sticks in your head, he says. 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. 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. 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. Wed heard that Istanbul could be a bit dangerous but we never thought anything of it, Andy says. We switched on the telly and it was all over the news, George says. The police were knocking everyone about, says Paul Holmes, a friend of the Loftuses who was in Taksim Square when the violence broke out. Two lives lost and two lives wasted, for nothing. 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. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. British fans were outnumbered and chased up side streets. Further information on the Istanbul violence: "Tragedy that awaited two fans on a journey to hell", "16 Hardcore Hooligan Firms, Ultras Groups We Wouldn't Want to Mess with", "Soldiers join hooligans to attack Turks in Cup clash", "Town in fear as drunken English pour in", "Arsenal-Galatasaray, sous le signe de la violence", "English, Turkish fans clash on eve final", "Copenhagen police overrun as soccer fans cause mayhem", "Folkefest endte i vold og masseslagsml", "Surprise attack by Arsenal fans seeking revenge sparked battle", "Violence erupts again as English and Turkish football fans riot in Copenhagen", "Danish police fear more brawls after European soccer final", "Violence overshadows historic soccer victory", "Charleroi lobby yet to learn lessons of Heysel", "Turkish and English fans clash at airport", "Galatasaray Wins UEFA Cup After Day of Rioting by Fans", "England told: more rioting and you're out", "Piers Morgan On Arsenal, Foreign Ownership and Twitter Rants", "SPORTS - The shadow on the UEFA Cup triumph", "How long until Turk fans cause another death on the pitch? Ridsdale agreed to send his wife and other officials back but instructed a car to take him and Spencer to Taksim Hospital. The potential for trouble was as high as anything Id been involved in. 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. You dont get it.. [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. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. Ridsdale is someone the Speights hold in high regard. He just happened to run into some tossers with knives., George was so young that the aftermath almost strayed into boyhood adventure. At the time he said: 'It was a tragic thing in football but we can't live in the past. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. Then you get your head around whats actually happened. 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 being banned from attending the second leg in England. 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. I stopped getting involved eventually, Andy says. At least nine other people, including six Leeds fans, were injured. The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. After taking stock, he got involved with the cancer charity Candlelighters and helped raise almost 150,000 for local hospital facilities. The 45-year-old was an unused sub when Leeds were defeated by Galatasaray in an infamous 1999-00 Uefa Cup semi-finals - a match that was overshadowed by the death of two Yorkshire fans in the . 2023 BBC. The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. ', While a third posted: 'They suit each other. Its completely different. Witnesses said he had been bludgeoned by police as he cradled a dying Chris in the street. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. This morning the Dutch international tweeted: "Finally my GalatasaraySK knife set is now available and can be delivered everywhere.". I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. 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. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. I just said to them, Good luck., Galatasarays reputation went before them. [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. It was a lad from Shipley who I knew, Andy says. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. 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, 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. Theyd been seeing each other for about six months.. galatasaray leeds deathashtoreth worship practices. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. In Turkey, two supporters were murdered. [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. Convictions were quashed, appeals were repetitive and it is far from clear how much of their respective sentences were served. Twenty Leeds fans, witnesses to the fight, were interviewed. [18] Later, large numbers of Galatasaray fans congregated in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, raising the Turkish flag in the square. Two Leeds fans were stabbed to death by Galatasaray supporters before game Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. I went for some counselling and didnt go through with all of it but the charity work helped. 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. Send any friend a story. More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. Absolutely amazed and totally stunned. [18] Arsenal fans congregated in nearby bars. 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. [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. Early relaxation gave way to brutal battle as rivals taunted each other, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. 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. Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. galatasaray leeds death. Galatasaray wanted me from the start. 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. [38] In Turkey, the media portrayed Galatasaray fans as acting in self-defence, with criticism directed at the British fans for allegedly attacking members of the press. Ali Umit . Anywhere else in Europe, I doubt it would have been played. Menu "Most were kind, but there were five or six really crazy guys. 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. UEFA also requested that fences be put up around the perimeter of the pitch. 15:32 EST 23 Mar 2021. When he arrived at the hospital, Darren was in a bed with head injuries. One wrote: 'If Alioski goes there, his high regard and reputation with Leeds fans is destroyed!! [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. Send your story ideas to [email protected]. By then, you knew exactly what had gone on and you knew the severity of it. 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]. They didnt care., The Speights were different and left the criminal cases alone. But he was not and the atmosphere was initially warmer than normal. The first time he went inside to be present, he sat with friends and cried. 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. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. If the thought of a transfer like that sits uncomfortably then perhaps it should. Jesus. Peter Ridsdale, the chairman who guided Leeds through the tragedy, is approaching 70. That is true. I like that they remember him. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. 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 [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. Galatasaray 2-1 Trabzonspor MORE. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. It was a load of shit. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. The brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. 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. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. Thats what they were, kids. [17] This came after Arsenal had warned the police before the final that there could be hooligans travelling to Copenhagen. "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. My mum just felt she had to move on. CATEGORIES . 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 . 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 and Galatasaray fans clashed in violent scenes 21 years agoat 21:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square. I went off the rails, he says. [10][12] This led to the final being considered "high risk"; 2,000 members of the Danish police were assigned to the game, with assistance from members of British and Turkish police forces. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. 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. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. Within minutes, a pitched battle erupted. 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. I can only go on what my mum said, but my dad was nothing like that. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. In the first leg it was difficult to say, Lets get out there do it for the two lads because we didnt have the full picture, Gray says. 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. By last night's kick-off, the pools of blood, shattered glass and debris had been cleared away. [2] 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. Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. Within a year, however, Demir, following an appeal, was a free man after his conviction was quashed and a re-trial ordered. I knew the ramifications would be life-long.. They stressed as delicately as they could the importance of staying indoors. The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. Ridsdale still struggles to accept Galatasarays indifferent reaction to the stabbings. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. He was eight when the deaths occurred and he was 25 when he came to England as a professional. The away crowd emptied after Rangers late equaliser without realising what had unfolded inside the ground. Its 20 years now but I dont think Ill ever get over it. He has a busy job as an electrician and a twinkle in his eye. There was nothing you could say to him. lisa left eye zodiac sign Search. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. 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. Andy has paid for the plaque to be cleaned a couple of times and it could do with another polish now. This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. It was totally deliberate. on the 20th anniversary of the killings in Istanbul. Leeds supporters in Istanbul were told to stay in their hotels. The day after the riots, FA Executive Director David Davies, issued an apology for the violence. He started shouting for Christopher to wake up. I prefer to remember that way. George is a regular at Leeds games but until his teens he would wait outside the stadium at the home fixture closest to the April 5 anniversary while a minutes applause played out. Ali Umit Demir, was arrested by Turkish police within days and he and three other Turks were later convicted in court. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of. According to one witness, a Turkish man was pushed to the ground and smashed his teeth on the pavement. But he didnt make much of it, like it was something of nothing. The second leg was totally different. It is unobtrusive and reads simply: In memory of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight who died tragically in Istanbul, April 5th 2000. Then a good mate of mine appeared and said thered been a bit of trouble. 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. zhuri james net worth 2021 / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. [40], The Danish police were also criticised for their handling of the riots. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. "I haven't seen a single Englishman all day," said a newspaper vendor. The connection was not comparable to Kewells. 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. 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. 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. I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. 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). Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. You ask them one by one if 20 years have helped them process what happened. 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.
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