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It is part of Leeds Uniteds fabric and it will never disappear: the night when football became murder and so many lives were changed. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. The Turkish media blamed the Leeds fans. The problem shouldn't have been Alioski or his next club, it's how Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. One of 13 Turks arrested in Istanbul has confessed to stabbing Leeds United fan Christopher Loftus, whose body is expected . The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. People know me because of my dad, he says. Eddie Gray is crouching down as he runs up from underground and into the open air. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. 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. Gray, a Glaswegian, was in the Celtic end with his wife Linda on the day of the Ibrox disaster in 1971. My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. If the thought of a transfer like that sits uncomfortably then perhaps it should. 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. 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. Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. [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. 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. They phoned their parents back home but the media had already informed them of Chriss death. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. It was completely against your idea of law and order. Then you get your head around whats actually happened. To this day, it is used as a tribute every time the anniversary comes round. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. There was nothing you could say to him. We switched on the telly and it was all over the news, George says. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. 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. British fans were outnumbered and chased up side streets. The passing of time is there in all of them. [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. Galatasaray - Detailed squad 22/23 | Transfermarkt He liked a drink and a laugh, simple as that, Andy says. According to one witness, a Turkish man was pushed to the ground and smashed his teeth on the pavement. [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. By then, you knew exactly what had gone on and you knew the severity of it. [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. Massive riots Galatasaray - Leeds / Arsenal 2000 - YouTube He died in an operating theatre in the early hours of the morning, despite Leeds United paying for blood supplies to be rushed to him. 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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. It's a fantastic city and I'm willing to learn. 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. Theyd been seeing each other for about six months.. 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. When the press came round, me and my cousin would bounce on my bed to try and get in the photos and in the papers. He was with Darren Loftus, Christopher's brother who had travelled with him, to identify his body. 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. They know what he did for us.. Twenty Leeds fans, witnesses to the fight, were interviewed. I stopped getting involved eventually, Andy says. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. Friends and family of Speight and Loftus had congregated there and other Leeds fans were waiting with more minor injuries, some of them slash wounds. The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. It wasnt a proper A&E unit. "We did amazing business in one hour. Then a good mate of mine appeared and said thered been a bit of trouble. 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. Our Daz was there and he told me the full story. 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. According to a waiter at a nearby restaurant, the Turkish club's fanatical fans had heard through the grapevine that trouble was brewing. "They came into town to see. Ridsdale agreed to send his wife and other officials back but instructed a car to take him and Spencer to Taksim Hospital. A lot of what went on I dont want to know. The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. By This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. 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. Gala is an awful football club and Alioski is an awful footballer. 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One of our security lads had to go with the bus to a compound, some sort of a lock-up. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; a huge occasion for the club in a football sense, Ridsdale says. Galatasaray fans attempted to provoke the Arsenal fans in the bars, and the two sides began chanting at each other until bottles were thrown from both sides around 16:00. In the context of football, that era was phenomenally good: Leeds in Europe and another trip to the continent always waiting around the corner. But if you back out, youll forfeit the game and incur a 3-0 defeat. "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.". Chelsea 1-0 Leeds LIVE: Blues finally find the breakthrough as Wesley Fofana heads home the opener in the second half in a game Graham Potter really needs to win as Brighton and Aston Villa . Everything happened in a flash. At least nine other people, including six Leeds fans, were injured. I got arrested which was a bad thing but also a good thing. Thats what they were, kids. A few hours later two Leeds supporters, Kevin Speight, 40, and Christopher Loftus, 37, were dead from stab wounds. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. [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. 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. 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. Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch international who . It didnt sit right with me. People speak well of him. I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. But the Leeds fans do not see it that way. Try a week on us. Asked shortly afterwards whether he thought the tie would still go ahead, Mr Ridsdale said: "It's too early to say. Galatasaray 2 - 1 Fraport TAV Antalyaspor MORE. 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. The Ibrox disaster was a tragedy, an accident, he says. 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. By the time the match kicked off, the ramifications of two fatal stabbings the previous. [40], The Danish police were also criticised for their handling of the riots. As a Turkish man is found guilty in Istanbul of murdering two Leeds United fans, the BBC gauges the reaction of local people. 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. 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? He wasnt one of them who tried to cause trouble. [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. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. Gray, one of OLearys assistants, tried to focus his attention elsewhere. No question.. A week or so later, we lost 4-0 to Arsenal. As. Peter Ridsdale, the chairman who guided Leeds through the tragedy, is approaching 70. Wed heard that Istanbul could be a bit dangerous but we never thought anything of it, Andy says. Two lives lost and two lives wasted, for nothing. Past present or future..', A second added: 'Would much rather see one of the u23s get a chance at lb than Alioski for the rest of the season. 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. Absolutely amazed and totally stunned. 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. 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. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. Association with the tragedy can be difficult. For players and supporters alike, this has become one of the most fraught and difficult venues in Europe. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). [19] The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans, and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square.