Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. [45] It later arose that the majority of the people in the photos were either not involved or had been acting in self-defence. But when it came to Istanbul, he and the club were remarkable in reacting quickly and with compassion. 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. Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through.
My dad is ex-World Cup star and BBC pundit but I want glory in a 11 Feb 02 | Europe Turkish justice moves slowly . Its completely different. From my point of view I was only interested in getting that game over and done with as safely as possible. 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. Kewell was quoted after joining Galatasaray as saying that to blame Galatasaray for the tragedy in Istanbul is simply wrong and discriminatory. I prefer to go to the plaque at Elland Road, he says. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. The 2000 UEFA Cup Final Riots, also known as the Battle of Copenhagen,[1] were a series of riots in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark between fans of English football team Arsenal and Turkish team Galatasaray around the 2000 UEFA Cup Final on 17 May 2000. George has no recollection of his dad leaving for Istanbul or of him saying goodbye. The facilities are great. People know me because of my dad, he says. It was a lad from Shipley who I knew, Andy says. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. In the weeks after the deaths, he offered them emotional and financial assistance (the family declined to take any money) and would phone Susan regularly to keep in touch. Thats just how the system worked. 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. 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.
Leeds fans RAGING at Ezgjan Alioski transfer links to Galatasaray [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. Leeds have never forgiven Eric Cantona for . Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, George and Holly Speight with Peter Ridsdale after their fathers death. 2023 BBC. Leeds and Galatasaray have an extremely volatile relationship following the death of two Leeds supporters prior to the UEFA CUp semi-final back in 2000. At least nine other people, including six Leeds fans, were injured. 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. I could see in their faces how much they were raging, Fallows says. According to a waiter at a nearby restaurant, the Turkish club's fanatical fans had heard through the grapevine that trouble was brewing. It was completely against your idea of law and order. The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. Twenty Leeds fans, witnesses to the fight, were interviewed.
Man United respond to Leeds hostility with thrilling win as Harry 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. As. [29], In all, four people were stabbed during the riots: two English, one Turkish and one Dutch fan. There is very little about the football which Ridsdale cares to remember and at the 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. The bodies were repatriated a few days later, beginning the process of mourning and funerals. 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. It also contains a table with average age, cumulative market value and average market value for each player position and overall. It was obvious that Galatasaray were making no concession for what had taken place, so that was our form of protest. Absolutely amazed and totally stunned. 15:32 EST 23 Mar 2021. Theyd been seeing each other for about six months.. Away tickets were limited to 80, which effectively covered only senior Galatasaray officials. Those killed were "attackers", it said. They phoned their parents back home but the media had already informed them of Chriss death. Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch international who . 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. The loss ofKevin Speight and Christopher Loftus is still felt incredibly deeply and the feud between the clubs remains. [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. We switched on the telly and it was all over the news, George says. For players and supporters alike, this has become one of the most fraught and difficult venues in Europe. According to one witness, a Turkish man was pushed to the ground and smashed his teeth on the pavement. The police did nothing, in fact they were helping them beat us up." Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. I make no secret of that., Leeds were beaten 2-0 in Istanbul and lost over two legs after a 2-2 draw at home. Bits of Istanbul werent in control. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans being banned from attending the second leg in England. The Turkish media blamed the Leeds fans. [35] In response, Prime Minister Tony Blair stated: Hopefully this threat will bring to their senses anyone tempted to continue the mindless thuggery that had brought such shame to the country.[35]. Wed spoken about doing something beforehand, he says. They had been a couple since their teens. The design of the place meant the Leeds players had to take a long walk to the tunnel, flanked by armed police. 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. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. It was how away days in Europe played out. Menu Theyd turned on their tellies and it was all over the Turkish news, Fallows says. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. Will Griffee For Mailonline, BREAKING NEWS: Leeds United legend and all-time record goalscorer Peter Lorimer dies at the age of 74 after long-term illness, just a month on from being moved into a hospice, Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford slams 'dead' VAR after having two costly goals controversially ruled out for offsides this season as he claims the technology has 'killed the game', Marcelo Bielsa insists Leeds can't bank on Premier League safety yet, despite moving 13 points clear of the relegation zone with victory at Fulham, EDDIE GRAY: No one struck the ball like Peter Lorimer we roomed together for 10 years and he was a popular, generous man who will be missed, Michael Vaughan arrives at court for Yorkshire cricket racism hearing, Toronto Raptors post cringe-worthy about why girls run the world, Souness and Robson joke they'd kick players wearing pink boots, Graeme Souness questions Van Dijk's leadership capabilities, Man City manager Pep Guardiola speaks ahead of match against Newcastle, Liverpool v Man United: Jurgen Klopp press conference ahead of match, Daily Mail reporter tests out Formula One training techniques, Raiders star Jordan Rapan is grilled over brutal hit in match, Erik ten Hag ready for 'next step' with Man Utd by beating top four rival Liverpool at Anfield, Liverpool's April visit ticket allocation slashed by 20%, Footballer Danny Simpson talks meeting Ronaldo while on a date, NBA Star Ja Morant holds gun up to his head while at a strip club. It shows all personal information about the players, including age, nationality, contract duration and market value. I dont think, even to this day, that Galatasaray would see the amount of press coverage or criticism as being fairly labelled against them, Ridsdale said last year. 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. 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. Its a strange thing but its important to me. More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. 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 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. Galatasaray advance to Ziraat Trkiye Kupas . 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.". A group of rival fans gathered and jeers were exchanged. [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. He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. This year is the 20th anniversary of the mens deaths in Istanbul and many of their relatives carry those events as if they happened yesterday. Read about our approach to external linking. The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. sauce pizza and wine mac and cheese. on the 20th anniversary of the killings in Istanbul. ', Some wrote stronger messages, such as: 'Washed my hands with Alioski if he f***s off to those vermin. Disgusting. Ridsdale agreed to send his wife and other officials back but instructed a car to take him and Spencer to Taksim Hospital. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. My mum struggled massively with it all and she still does now, George says. 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.
George understands why but wishes with hindsight that he had been there. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. Istanbul was like no other event he has dealt with.
Turkish man jailed for stabbing deaths of Leeds fans Even now I get the feeling that people think we started it, Andy says. "We did amazing business in one hour. Ill be honest, by the time we were kicking off I had no idea why we were playing. They ordered us to pump up the volume, so we did," said Mr Dedeler, 24. 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. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans . I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. [20], After the match, which Galatasaray won 41 on penalties, approximately 300 Arsenal fans in the Finsbury Park area of Islington in London attacked Turkish restaurants and businesses, with bottles being used to break windows. But the Leeds fans do not see it that way. 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. Arsenal qualified for the final by defeating French club Lens in their semi-final. Holmes says Andy was the life and soul of the party before Istanbul but the impact of Chriss death was severe. 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. The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. The connection was not comparable to Kewells. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. 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. The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings.
SOCCER; Amid Heightened Security, Galatasaray Defeats Leeds There was the time when the pub opened its doors early to allow the locals to catch an early kick-off between Leeds and Manchester United. 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. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. He had been involved in the plane crash which Leeds players and coaches escaped from on the way home from a Premier League game at West Ham United in 1998. One Love was a controlled situation.
The blood had to be sourced externally and to do that, someone had to pay. 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. I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. Football and Leedss financial collapse made Ridsdale persona non grata at Elland Road but George says his mums face lit up when she heard that he was being interviewed for this article. Within a year, however, Demir, following an appeal, was a free man after his conviction was quashed and a re-trial ordered. My mum always says the same: Hed gone out there for the football, nothing else. Everyones different., A brass plaque commemorating Speight and Lofus was set into brickwork outside Elland Road in 2001. But he didnt make much of it, like it was something of nothing. The setting was Turkeys biggest city, on the banks of the Bosphorus, and the game was the first leg of a UEFA Cup semi-final. [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. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. The morning after Loftus and Speight were killed, Fallows and Stokoe were asked by Ridsdale to visit every hotel where the clubs supporters were staying. 'There were a lot of other clubs out there but this is perfect for me. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. Give our social media channels a follow . [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. Youre a kid. The police told us themselves that the shoe-shine boys had been trailing us for a while, waiting to see when some of us had split away from the main group.. It makes me proud. Like his father, George has the nickname Spag. Turkish eye-witnesses accused Leeds fans of insulting women, defacing the Turkish flag, urinating in the street and tipping over a car. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. They will never be forgotten.. Six people were arrested and three Metropolitan Police officers were injured. The atmosphere was electric like, scarily electric. [18] Arsenal fans congregated in nearby bars.
Galatasaray's Wesley Sneijder launches knife range - mirror When he arrived at the hospital, Darren was in a bed with head injuries.
galatasaray leeds death 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. In contrast, what Leeds saw in Galatasaray was a baffling lack of sympathy. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. Welcome to Hell, Galatasaray liked to say. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. 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. It was horrible. 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. I thought about Graeme Souness running and planting a Galatasaray flag in the middle of the pitch at Fenerbahce. 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. My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. zhuri james net worth 2021 / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes [23] The violence, which included fans from other English clubs[24] and Turks living in Denmark,[25] lasted for 45 minutes. Andy Loftus had flown to watch the match with his brother. [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.
I didnt want to be standing there telling them what to do and I understood that they didnt want to hear it.
One of our security lads had to go with the bus to a compound, some sort of a lock-up. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery.
Leeds fans RAGING at Ezgjan Alioski transfer links to Galatasaray "They were screaming all sorts of things. 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. Some claimed the English sparked it by throwing beer glasses at passing women pedestrians.
Can you guess these stars by their unrecognisable FIFA and PES looks? Galatasaray supporters, despite everything that had gone on, were pelting the buses and trying to smash the windows. Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. That is true. The way the police and the authorities were with 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. He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. Something went wrong, please try again later. 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.
2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence - Wikiwand 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 looked at Eddie, he looked at me, we smiled a nervous smile and both said the same thing: Lets go.. Turkish police, according to British of ficials, appeared to be taking the killings as seriously as they would hope. This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. The city centre was tense but, thanks to a massive police presence, mainly empty. 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. As injured and angry Leeds fans came through, he did what he could. Staff said many fans were drunk by 10pm, intimidating Turkish families drinking in the lounge. The Turkish police didnt give a shit about us. He wasnt one of them who tried to cause trouble. ", Jack Connolly added: "That Wesley Sneijder knife launch is disgusting, scum of the earth.". HONEYTRAP HELL: Watch the moment dad lets two women into flat who seduced and drugged him before stabbing him to death over fake Rolex he'd shown off online, Moment sonic boom 'like a gas explosion' shakes homes as RAF Typhoon aircraft scrambled, Spencer Matthews sparks concern as Finding Michael documentary pulled at 11th hour, Cyclist pavement killer risks losing home as neighbours break silence, BREAKING: Max Verstappen takes Bahrain GP pole as Fernando Alonso gets one over Lewis Hamilton, Defiant Prince Andrew seen smiling amid royal eviction clash with King Charles, BREAKING: Bus carrying 40 schoolchildren plunges down creek in French Alps, Matt Hancock's 41-hour battle to save career after Gina Coladangelo affair revealed, Art Attack legend Neil Buchanan unrecognisable after quitting TV role for rock band, Saturday Kitchen fans in hysterics as guest repeats X-rated word live on BBC, Harry has 'NOTHING TO LOSE' after Frogmore eviction as he prepares for trauma tell-all, Woman, who was over drink-drive limit, dies in crash on way home from work at club, Subscribe to Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror newspapers.