galatasaray leeds death
In Turkey, two supporters were murdered. Spencer interrupted dinner to advise Ridsdale that they should return to the hotel immediately. 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. 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. I like that they remember him. 12/02/2021 . 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. George understands why but wishes with hindsight that he had been there. The day after the riots, FA Executive Director David Davies, issued an apology for the violence. OFFICIAL DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR THE VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE MORE. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. 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. In the circumstances, it was a total irrelevance and too highly-charged. The Ibrox disaster was a tragedy, an accident, he 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 . #RIPChrisAndKev. It is 10 years since he last went to the grave. 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. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. My mum always says the same: Hed gone out there for the football, nothing else. Ali Umit . Istanbul was like no other event he has dealt with. George is different. He was with Darren Loftus, Christopher's brother who had travelled with him, to identify his body. Andy got a pint at the bar. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. I didnt want to be standing there telling them what to do and I understood that they didnt want to hear it. They reported that as one of them tried to give the kiss of life to Mr Loftus, he was set upon. 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. She knows who he was but its not the same.. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. 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. 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. Both families come here each April 5, to lay flowers and let another year pass. Andys last memory of Chris is of him rolling his eyes sarcastically and ribbing him for leaving early, in brotherly style. The first the Leeds players heard of the incident in Taksim Square was when phone calls started reaching them in their hotel. But he didnt make much of it, like it was something of nothing. To this day, it is used as a tribute every time the anniversary comes round. Andy has paid for the plaque to be cleaned a couple of times and it could do with another polish now. Hello Hell, We Are Leeds, read one banner carried by fans piling through Istanbul airport on Wednesday night. "There was nothing in the days running up to this match to suggest there would be this level of violence," Mr Hunt said. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. When the Turkish club flew over for the return leg two weeks later, an occasion as venomous and bitter as any Elland Road has hosted, they railed against Ridsdales request that their fans be banned from travelling. 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 . [21] This lasted 20 minutes[19] before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with dogs[22] and tear gas. 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 the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. 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. . By Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed during street clashes the night before Leeds played Turkey's Galatasaray in the second leg of the Uefa Cup semi-finals in April 2000. 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. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. He described the Turkish policing as diabolical and out of control. For George, the clearest memories of his dad are few and slightly random. Galatasaray 2 - 1 Fraport TAV Antalyaspor MORE. People speak well of him. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. Surprise me? One minute youre coming out of a bar, the next youve got people running to attack you. 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. From my point of view I was only interested in getting that game over and done with as safely as possible. It was a load of shit. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. There was no minutes silence or acknowledgement of the deaths. 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 . In the context of football, that era was phenomenally good: Leeds in Europe and another trip to the continent always waiting around the corner. He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. 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. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. [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. That is true. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. [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. Welcome to Hell, Galatasaray liked to say. Send any friend a story. [12] However, there were conflicting reports, with claims that some Galatasaray fans were instigating some of the violence. Both had numerous other wounds. Matt White tweeted: "Wesley Sneijder tweeting a personalised Galatasaray knife set on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 2 Leeds fans in Istanbul? Confusion reigned. All he recalls about the incident was being woken up by Susan the following morning and told, as softly as it could be broken, that Speight had died. Menu Jesus. 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. It didnt sit right with me. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. 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'. They carried beer glasses outside, we couldn't stop them, and others followed." 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 you just go into a downward spiral. Life is good. 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. 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? Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. If the thought of a transfer like that sits uncomfortably then perhaps it should. In 2014 he was spoken to by a Turkish website, a free man again. People know me because of my dad, he says. [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. Fatih Terim, Galatasaray's coach, had whipped up his side's supporters. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you're Leeds, you don't move to a direct rival, simple. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. Both had numerous other wounds. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. [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. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. Christopher's brother was there [at the time of the incident] and I think that the impact on those two families can never be underestimated.". [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. galatasaray leeds death. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. 2023 BBC. 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. 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.
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