With CCTV evidence, four men were indicted for murder within a week, including Ali Umit Demir, at whose flat the police found a knife stained with the blood of both victims. Tributes began to cover the gates and the Billy Bremner Statue at Elland Road. Chris & Kevin - Never Forgotten - Leeds United Everything happened in a flash. Tuesday 5th April 2022 marks 22 years since two loyal Leeds United supporters, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, travelled to Turkey to watch their beloved team in action but tragically never returned home. The slit-throat gestures from fans as we arrived on the bus. He wasnt one of them who tried to cause trouble. [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. 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. Leeds fans RAGING at Ezgjan Alioski transfer links to Galatasaray [37], In the United Kingdom, Arsenal fans were originally blamed for the violence as the police had fixed blame on them. Gala is an awful football club and Alioski is an awful footballer. [17] This came after Arsenal had warned the police before the final that there could be hooligans travelling to Copenhagen. pleasant grove high school / staff directory; dr omar suleiman wife esraa; ontario road trip summer; song baseball apple; waltham athletic club tennis schedule; galatasaray leeds death. Ridsdale agreed to send his wife and other officials back but instructed a car to take him and Spencer to Taksim Hospital. Ridsdale still struggles to accept Galatasarays indifferent reaction to the stabbings. "Most were kind, but there were five or six really crazy guys. Tragedy that awaited two fans on a journey to hell The loss ofKevin Speight and Christopher Loftus is still felt incredibly deeply and the feud between the clubs remains. 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I respect the Loftuses for fighting, 100 per cent. Six people were arrested and three Metropolitan Police officers were injured. ', Some wrote stronger messages, such as: 'Washed my hands with Alioski if he f***s off to those vermin. "They came into town to see. ', By Within a year, however, Demir, following an appeal, was a free man after his conviction was quashed and a re-trial ordered. I dont think a single one of the lads wanted to play that night.. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. 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 Holmes says Andy was the life and soul of the party before Istanbul but the impact of Chriss death was severe. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. Then you get your head around whats actually happened. galatasaray leeds death; marfan criteria calculator; galatasaray leeds death. He had been in touch with the Turkish authorities, and with Chief Superintendent Steve Matthews from West Yorkshire police, who travels abroad with Leeds fans on away trips, and his team of three or four officers acting as "spotters". Alioski had less of a cross to bear. But if you back out, youll forfeit the game and incur a 3-0 defeat. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. 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. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. Gray, one of OLearys assistants, tried to focus his attention elsewhere. You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. When he arrived at the hospital, Darren was in a bed with head injuries. [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. "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. Leeds fans RAGING at Ezgjan Alioski transfer links to Galatasaray Its a strange thing but its important to me. [13], On the Wednesday at 1:00, Galatasaray fans attacked a bar in Strget in Copenhagen, where some Arsenal fans were located. 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. Matt White tweeted: "Wesley Sneijder tweeting a personalised Galatasaray knife set on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 2 Leeds fans in Istanbul? Send any friend a story. If the thought of a transfer like that sits uncomfortably then perhaps it should. Devastated., The next 24 hours were a blur. It is his life and his career, much as the option of Galatasaray was incapable of arising without anyone passing comment. It was a haunting moment then and it haunts me now. The blood had to be sourced externally and to do that, someone had to pay. I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots. I prefer to go to the plaque at Elland Road, he says. 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. Man United respond to Leeds hostility with thrilling win as Harry Galatasaray advance to Ziraat Trkiye Kupas . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. A fortnight ago, Ridsdale was voted onto the EFLs board. Galatasaray player apologises to Leeds fans for knife tweet Summarize this article for a 10 years old. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. sauce pizza and wine mac and cheese. Without his help, my mum would have been a bit lost, George says. [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. Give our social media channels a follow . David Davies, the Football Association's executive director, called it "frankly, the least worst option". He was taken to identify the other, Chris Loftus, in the morgue after doctors mistook him for a family member. 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. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. zhuri james net worth 2021 / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes Witnesses said he had been bludgeoned by police as he cradled a dying Chris in the street. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. 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. Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. 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. In May 2002 Demir, who admitted the stabbings, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with four other men imprisoned for three months each. The brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". 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. Then a good mate of mine appeared and said thered been a bit of trouble. Those killed were "attackers", it said. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. I am happy and I hope everyone else can be too. My mum flicked it straight off again. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. 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.. The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. There isnt much that unnerves me but that was quite a scary moment. Ali Sami Yen stadium should even go ahead. He sees it now as a necessary shock to the system. 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. By last night's kick-off, the pools of blood, shattered glass and debris had been cleared away. How can it be that two lads go to watch a football game and dont come back?. [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. [29], In all, four people were stabbed during the riots: two English, one Turkish and one Dutch fan. 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. Disgusting. 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence - Wikiwand Ali Umit . 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. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. 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. Right up to the attack, I didnt see any trouble. Other fans in Istanbul spoke of isolated incidents here and there but nothing serious. 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. He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. 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. The families of the victims will tell you that. 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. Galatasaray 2-1 Trabzonspor MORE. 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. "They were screaming all sorts of things. Early relaxation gave way to brutal battle as rivals taunted each other, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. [19] The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans, and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square. Ali Sami Yen was in a league of its own in atmosphere terms, aggressive and ferocious for visiting sides. Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. The problem shouldn't have been Alioski or his next club, it's how I like that they remember him. 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. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. Welcome to Hell, Galatasaray liked to say. [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 when it came to Istanbul, he and the club were remarkable in reacting quickly and with compassion. The manager of Leeds, David O'Leary, had voiced fears of being met at the airport by "a 100-strong rentamob". The day after the riots, FA Executive Director David Davies, issued an apology for the violence. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. George is different. Mr Loftus's brother Andy said: "I know it may seem a long time but it's still very much like yesterday really.". 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. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. 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). My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. [40], The Danish police were also criticised for their handling of the riots. My sisters had a word and told me to sort myself out. Andy got a pint at the bar. It might be fair to say that the events of 2000 are a reason to dissuade a footballer with ties to Leeds from engaging with Galatasaray but not necessarily to prohibit him from signing, especially as time goes by. [18] Arsenal fans congregated in nearby bars. galatasaray leeds death. There was no minutes silence or acknowledgement of the deaths. 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. This morning the Dutch international tweeted: "Finally my GalatasaraySK knife set is now available and can be delivered everywhere.". Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. galatasaray leeds death It was horrible. Twenty years on from Istanbul: the night when football became murder Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows says. "There was nothing in the days running up to this match to suggest there would be this level of violence," Mr Hunt said. ", Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter with the day's key headlines and transfer news straight into your inbox. 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. [7] The ban was supported by UEFA and only 80 tickets were issued to Galatasaray for officials and representatives of the Turkish government. 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.
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