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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. I could see in their faces how much they were raging, Fallows says. 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. I genuinely feared for our lives. Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. [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. But he didnt make much of it, like it was something of nothing. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. A few hours later two Leeds supporters, Kevin Speight, 40, and Christopher Loftus, 37, were dead from stab wounds. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to 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. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. A week or so later, we lost 4-0 to Arsenal. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. The second leg was totally different. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. Ill hear them saying, Thats Kevin Speights lad and I like that. I cant explain it but I got this weird feeling, 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. 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. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. Through different eyes and different viewpoints, a picture built up of the disregard and indifference with which they had been treated by those they looked to for help. By The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. After taking stock, he got involved with the cancer charity Candlelighters and helped raise almost 150,000 for local hospital facilities. Bowyer leads out the Leeds team as the first leg went ahead (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images), A minutes silence is observed before the return leg at Elland Road (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images). 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. The interview included vague expressions of regret but no apology to Speight and Loftus or their relatives. 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. galatasaray leeds death. Within minutes, a pitched battle erupted. People speak well of him. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. 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. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. I had no idea where we were going or why we were going there, he says. At this juncture, it should be said that Kewell and Alioski were not identical. Acquittal plea in soccer death trial. 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. Staff said many fans were drunk by 10pm, intimidating Turkish families drinking in the lounge. Both had numerous other wounds. It didnt sit right with me. [48] In 2001, the tribunal ruled in their favour,[49] and ordered Royal Mail to reinstate them. , updated [36], In August 2000, Arsenal banned thirty-seven people involved in the Copenhagen riot from Arsenal's Highbury stadium. 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. Four people were stabbed in the scuffles, which also involved fans from other clubs and were viewed by the media as part of a retaliation for the killing of two Leeds United fans by Galatasaray supporters the month before. ', Some wrote stronger messages, such as: 'Washed my hands with Alioski if he f***s off to those vermin. It is regarded as a significant act of betrayal by many fans for a Leeds player to join Galatasaray. Susan chose not to take the children to Speights funeral. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. I looked at Eddie, he looked at me, we smiled a nervous smile and both said the same thing: Lets go.. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. Within an hour of the stabbings in central Istanbul, some of David OLearys squad emerged to speak to him. That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. There isnt much that unnerves me but that was quite a scary moment. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to death by Galatasaray supporters prior to the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000. Theyd turned on their tellies and it was all over the Turkish news, Fallows says. They carried beer glasses outside, we couldn't stop them, and others followed." Im not sure Ive even processed it now. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. He just happened to run into some tossers with knives., George was so young that the aftermath almost strayed into boyhood adventure. [12] However, there were conflicting reports, with claims that some Galatasaray fans were instigating some of the violence. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". 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. "They were screaming all sorts of things. 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. Even now I get the feeling that people think we started it, Andy says. [24] It was claimed that the police failed to control the riots,[43] and that they had been undermanned and outmaneuvered, to which Mogens Lauridsen, the police chief in Copenhagen admitted that the police had been "under-prepared". Its completely different. At the hotel, Phil went up to his room. [3] Leeds fans had been drinking in bars reportedly taunting local people and Turkish police intervened to stop fights breaking out. I like that they remember him. 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. [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. [17], Throughout the day large numbers of fans, both English and Turkish, were seen throughout the city and at the airport. 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 is unobtrusive and reads simply: In memory of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight who died tragically in Istanbul, April 5th 2000. Though the versions of Leeds fans and Turkish witnesses are almost entirely at odds, it appears the trouble started in the city's entertainment district outside the Riddim reggae bar in Buyuk Parmakkapi Street. 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. 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 galatasaray leeds death. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. [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. One minute youre coming out of a bar, the next youve got people running to attack you. A Galatasaray player who endorsed a set of knives as Leeds United paid tribute to fans fatally stabbed before a game against his club has apologised. I was so pleased to get on the plane out of Turkey but once I got back and thought about things, the reality of two lads dying out there got to me. The shadow of Istanbul is longer for Andy Loftus. "Their chanting should make Ali Sami Yen [the Galatasaray stadium] hell for Leeds United.". Read about our approach to external linking. The passing of time is there in all of them. 15:32 EST 23 Mar 2021. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. Without his help, my mum would have been a bit lost, George says. ", Jack Connolly added: "That Wesley Sneijder knife launch is disgusting, scum of the earth.". The way the police and the authorities were with us. Galatasaray accused him of trying to gain an unfair sporting advantage. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. The potential for trouble was as high as anything Id been involved in. I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. 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. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. He was with Darren Loftus, Christopher's brother who had travelled with him, to identify his body. Disgusting. In the case of Loftus brother Andy, he prefers not to make a big deal of his surname for fear of the questions that might follow; the feeling of being always on show. Its a game. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. 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. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. UEFA, after a week of consideration, agreed with Leeds. 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). 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. [2] The events happened at 22:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square during a fight between Leeds fans and Galatasaray fans. Mr Loftus's brother Andy said: "I know it may seem a long time but it's still very much like yesterday really.". Several fans offered to foot the bill. Others that the Turks precipitated it by throwing chairs. In the circumstances, it was a total irrelevance and too highly-charged. George understands why but wishes with hindsight that he had been there. After a long legal process in Turkey, four men were jailed in 2010. [25] The British fans were later released without charge but were forbidden from returning to Denmark. [21] This lasted 20 minutes[19] before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with dogs[22] and tear gas. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Any time I think about what happened, I ask the same question. "It's just a bit of a rollercoaster ride really but we get by," he said. Forty Leeds fans arrested in the scuffles were released without charge. [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. But it had to be done., In the circumstances, did it surprise Fallows that the game in Istanbul went ahead? He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. From 5pm local time more than 100 Leeds fans had arrived shouting, singing and demanding beer, according to Batu Dedeler, the bar owner. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. They stressed as delicately as they could the importance of staying indoors. [32] The rest were fined an equivalent of $500 and banned from Denmark for a year.[33]. [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. It was a haunting moment then and it haunts me now. 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. Andy is one of six siblings, two sisters and four brothers, and all of the boys Phil, Chris, Darren and Andy made the trip to Turkey. The facilities are great. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. 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. They know what he did for us.. My sisters had a word and told me to sort myself out. The pair were met by angry, upset and bewildered groups. As. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. His financial record at Leeds was dismal and Leeds never forget about it. 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. They ordered us to pump up the volume, so we did," said Mr Dedeler, 24. [17] This came after Arsenal had warned the police before the final that there could be hooligans travelling to Copenhagen. They had been a couple since their teens. I stood there with Eddie Gray, Fallows says. Surprise me? So Leeds did. Peter Hunt, the British consul general in Istanbul, had been prepared for potential trouble, as are all consuls and embassies when English fans travel abroad. Try a week on us. 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. In its opinion, contesting the game was the least worst option. But he was not and the atmosphere was initially warmer than normal. 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.". "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.". Will Griffee For Mailonline Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. 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. [13], On the Wednesday at 1:00, Galatasaray fans attacked a bar in Strget in Copenhagen, where some Arsenal fans were located. 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