And thats without even mentioning what had gone on the night before with the two lads who were killed. George is aware of some of the details but has tried not to dig too deeply. It is regarded as a significant act of betrayal by many fans for a Leeds player to join Galatasaray. 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. Later in the evening, a group of around 20 Leeds supporters broke off and found their way to the Riddim bar near Taksim Square, the huge expanse in the centre of Istanbul which was filled with places to eat and drink. That is true. 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. 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. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. ', While a third posted: 'They suit each other. It also contains a table with average age, cumulative market value and average market value for each player position and overall. 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. Life is good. [38], In 2013, Arsenal invited Galatasaray to compete at their annual Emirates Cup tournament. Will Griffee For Mailonline 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. So Leeds did. [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. [2] 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. The way the police and the authorities were with us. They all say no. Acquittal plea in soccer death trial. Surprise me? Menu And others, like Eddie Gray and Ian Harte, have moved on with their lives. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. UEFA, after a week of consideration, agreed with Leeds. 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. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. [39] Later on, British media blame also transferred towards Galatasaray fans. You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. Everything happened in a flash. [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. Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. I went off the rails, he says. Disgusting. I didn't know this and deleted our promotion for the merchandise kitchen item #respect. 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. 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. [25] The British fans were later released without charge but were forbidden from returning to Denmark. Bits of Istanbul werent in control. I didnt want to be standing there telling them what to do and I understood that they didnt want to hear it. Then you get your head around whats actually happened. I respect the Loftuses for fighting, 100 per cent. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. Holmes says Andy was the life and soul of the party before Istanbul but the impact of Chriss death was severe. Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. Bouncers guarded the bars from any English fans. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. By last night's kick-off, the pools of blood, shattered glass and debris had been cleared away. [37], In the United Kingdom, Arsenal fans were originally blamed for the violence as the police had fixed blame on them. I just said to them, Good luck., Galatasarays reputation went before them. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. Andy was jailed in 2013 for his part in a fight between Leeds and Tottenham Hotspur fans in which a Spurs supporter was knocked unconscious. How the violence started is unclear. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. It was horrible. Andy got a pint at the bar. 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. 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. Following the two tragic deaths, local police arrested and charged four Galatasaray supporters with murder. 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). "There's a lot of anger. Galatasaray wanted me from the start. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. [36], In August 2000, Arsenal banned thirty-seven people involved in the Copenhagen riot from Arsenal's Highbury stadium. At the hotel, Phil went up to his room. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows 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. "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. 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. [2] The events happened at 22:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square during a fight between Leeds fans and Galatasaray fans. Galatasaray beat English team Leeds United but their matches were marred by violence: two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death before their semi-final first leg at Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul on 6 April 2000. For some of it we were relying on the police and the authorities without knowing if they were going to do the right things. Before England played Turkey in a European Championship qualifier in Istanbul in 2003, Englands staff got in touch with Fallows to ask for logistical advice. I prefer to go to the plaque at Elland Road, he says. Fans in nearby bars remained unaware of the violence. [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. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. 15:32 EST 23 Mar 2021. OFFICIAL DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR THE VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE MORE. According to one witness, a Turkish man was pushed to the ground and smashed his teeth on the pavement. 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. People know me because of my dad, he says. More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. Another picture, taken by the Yorkshire Evening Posts Mark Bickerdike, shows Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate stepping from the tunnel with tangible shock on their faces. The Turkish police didnt give a shit about us. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. We looked up the steps and all you could see at the top was the dark sky and riot shields around the entrance to the pitch. He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. Leeds supporters who were present denied causing trouble and the UK coroner who presided over the inquest, David Hinchliff, stated in unequivocal terms that Speight and Loftus were the innocent victims of a deliberate ambush. Uefa, after consultation with the clubs and the Turkish authorities, wavered but eventually decided to go ahead. I thought about Graeme Souness running and planting a Galatasaray flag in the middle of the pitch at Fenerbahce. [18] Later, large numbers of Galatasaray fans congregated in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, raising the Turkish flag in the square. He liked a drink and a laugh, simple as that, Andy says. They ploughed on regardless, much like UEFA, and left Ridsdale thinking that their directors were more worried about distancing themselves from the stabbings than helping Leeds cope with them. It was a load of shit. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. Hello Hell, We Are Leeds, read one banner carried by fans piling through Istanbul airport on Wednesday night. [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. After a long legal process in Turkey, four men were jailed in 2010. Within an hour of the stabbings in central Istanbul, some of David OLearys squad emerged to speak to him. His brother was following behind us and, quite understandably, he lost it. It is 10 years since he last went to the grave. Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. [27], At Parken Stadium, where the final was to be played, the police erected iron fencing outside to separate the Arsenal and Galatasaray fans as a precaution. Six people were arrested and three Metropolitan Police officers were injured. They carried beer glasses outside, we couldn't stop them, and others followed." Two lives lost and two lives wasted, for nothing. And I still blame myself a lot.. 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. 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. Later in the day, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading towards Arsenal fans in bars nearby. ", "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. When he arrived at the hospital, Darren was in a bed with head injuries. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. Leeds fans had planned to honour the memories of Speight and Loftus this weekend by holding up photos of the two murdered men at the home game with Blackburn Rovers. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. Galatasaray supporters, despite everything that had gone on, were pelting the buses and trying to smash the windows. I had no idea where we were going or why we were going there, he says. The first time he went inside to be present, he sat with friends and cried. Thats just how the system worked. (Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt AMA/Getty Images). Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, Leeds players needed protection from police with riot shields before their game against Galatasaray in 2000 (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images). I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. I cant explain it but I got this weird feeling, he says. What they were seeing was pretty graphic so we said to them, Turn the tellies off, go to bed and wait for us to get some proper details. The footage was grainy and frightening, capturing a helpless Loftus with bloodstains on his shirt. "We did amazing business in one hour. [26] There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. [28] In Turkey, nine people were accidentally shot and injured by Galatasaray fans firing guns in celebration despite police warning them not to. Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch international who . They felt we were overreacting and on the day of the game in Istanbul there was no attempt to make sure the match passed off safely or securely, not that I could see. 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 . The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. 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. There was the time when he was caught stealing two pounds from the pub till and sent by Speight to sit in the office until Susan came home to read the riot act. 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. A group of rival fans gathered and jeers were exchanged. The English FA followed the line of least resistance. [17], Throughout the day large numbers of fans, both English and Turkish, were seen throughout the city and at the airport. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. Both families come here each April 5, to lay flowers and let another year pass. [23] The violence, which included fans from other English clubs[24] and Turks living in Denmark,[25] lasted for 45 minutes. Ridsdale still struggles to accept Galatasarays indifferent reaction to the stabbings. [15] In the fight, Paul Dineen, an Arsenal fan, was stabbed, leading to Arsenal offering fans refunds if they did not want to fly to the game. junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . I dont know why.. We tried to raise awareness but it was a farce. [37] Leeds United also banned three of their fans from Elland Road after they had been identified in pictures of the riots. Ill be honest, by the time we were kicking off I had no idea why we were playing. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. 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. 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. My sisters had a word and told me to sort myself out. [7] The ban was supported by UEFA and only 80 tickets were issued to Galatasaray for officials and representatives of the Turkish government. He must have been off his head., Ian Harte, the left-back, is more vivid in describing it. Its a game. The Turkish media tried to blame English fans for provoking the violence by being drunk and disrespecting the Turkish flag. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; "a huge occasion for the club in a football sense," Ridsdale says. 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. galatasaray leeds death. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, George and Holly Speight with Peter Ridsdale after their fathers death. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. It sunk in quickly once we got home. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 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. There was nothing you could say to him. Who really cares?. Tributes began to cover the gates and the Billy Bremner Statue at Elland Road. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. It was how away days in Europe played out. Manchester United and Chelsea had contested European ties at the 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. I feel sorry for her, George says. The facilities are great. 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 He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. A fortnight ago, Ridsdale was voted onto the EFLs board. 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. Speights son, George, is no longer the cheeky kid with floppy hair smiling brightly in the photograph of his father he digs out. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. 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. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; a huge occasion for the club in a football sense, Ridsdale says. I didnt feel that their response was what our response would have been. From 5pm local time more than 100 Leeds fans had arrived shouting, singing and demanding beer, according to Batu Dedeler, the bar owner. [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. [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". 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. My mum just felt she had to move on. The brothers went to the British Embassy but, in Andys words, found them to be worse than useless. Nigel Martyn has exclusively told LeedsUnited.News that playing against Galatasaray in the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000 - just 24 hours after the murders of two Leeds fans - is to this day, his biggest regret in football. Read about our approach to external linking. The police were doing nothing to stop them. Confusion reigned. 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. 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 Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. Galatasaray advance to Ziraat Trkiye Kupas . . 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. [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. The families of the victims will tell you that. My sympathy was with them. My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. I didnt catch everything but I heard enough. We had a coach for the players and a coach for the directors, he says. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). Outside, Leeds fans reportedly taunted Turkish men. I was totally speechless, totally shocked. Theyd been seeing each other for about six months.. "Kevin had two young children. One of 13 Turks arrested in Istanbul has confessed to stabbing Leeds United fan Christopher Loftus, whose body is expected . 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. This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. Within a year, however, Demir, following an appeal, was a free man after his conviction was quashed and a re-trial ordered. [17] This came after Arsenal had warned the police before the final that there could be hooligans travelling to Copenhagen. The images are so vivid in Peter Ridsdales mind that he can describe every aspect of the hospital where Speight and Loftus were taken after they were attacked. He was with Darren Loftus, Christopher's brother who had travelled with him, to identify his body. 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. "It's just a bit of a rollercoaster ride really but we get by," he said. 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. 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. 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. To this day, it is used as a tribute every time the anniversary comes round. Shes struggled with it more than I have because shes got nothing there. Its a strange thing but its important to me. Try a week on us. Then you turn around and Kevin and Chris are lying there., In the hospitals waiting area, Andy overheard a voice saying that one of the fatalities was one of the four brothers.