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. 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. Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. He was eight when the deaths occurred and he was 25 when he came to England as a professional. 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. They phoned their parents back home but the media had already informed them of Chriss death. Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch international who . 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. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. We catch up at the cafe in an Asda store near his home in Killingbeck and he speaks bravely but reluctantly; not because he wants to but because he thinks he should, for the sake of his brother Chriss memory. One minute youre coming out of a bar, the next youve got people running to attack you. [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. Staff said many fans were drunk by 10pm, intimidating Turkish families drinking in the lounge. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, George and Holly Speight with Peter Ridsdale after their fathers death. Its 20 years now but I dont think Ill ever get over it. 13:02 EST 23 Mar 2021 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. But if you back out, youll forfeit the game and incur a 3-0 defeat. 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.". The potential for trouble was as high as anything Id been involved in. 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. My mum just felt she had to move on. In the first leg it was difficult to say, Lets get out there do it for the two lads because we didnt have the full picture, Gray says. "There's a lot of anger. The police claim he was punched. Arsenal qualified for the final by defeating French club Lens in their semi-final. So Leeds did. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. [12] However, there were conflicting reports, with claims that some Galatasaray fans were instigating some of the violence. It was totally deliberate. More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. As. They have nothing but good words for Ridsdales conduct and nothing but gratitude for his support. 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. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". 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. People speak well of him. 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 problem shouldn't have been Alioski or his next club, it's how Galatasaray dealt with that tragedy By Phil Hay Jul 24, 2021 In the early hours of the morning after the death of two Leeds. 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. Disgusting. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of. From 5pm local time more than 100 Leeds fans had arrived shouting, singing and demanding beer, according to Batu Dedeler, the bar owner. 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.. My sympathy was with them. The passing of time is there in all of them. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. 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. 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. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Alioski had less of a cross to bear. [26] There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game. Two lives lost and two lives wasted, for nothing. Youre a kid. Its a strange thing but its important to me. Ali Umit Demir, was arrested by Turkish police within days and he and three other Turks were later convicted in court. I thought about Graeme Souness running and planting a Galatasaray flag in the middle of the pitch at Fenerbahce. By the time the match kicked off, the ramifications of two fatal stabbings the previous evening were rapidly sinking in and for those who were closest to it, the images wont fade. Away tickets were limited to 80, which effectively covered only senior Galatasaray officials. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. And worse things too. For me, it didnt feel real. [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. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. 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. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. 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. The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. This led to 19 injuries, including 4 stabbings, and 60 arrests with similar events occurring in England and Turkey in the aftermath of the riots. Rory Carroll in Istanbul and Martin Wainwright. . You dont take much notice of whats said because youre out there for a beer and a laugh. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; "a huge occasion for the club in a football sense," Ridsdale says. It was a load of shit. 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. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. I was getting into trouble, drinking and fighting. Theyd turned on their tellies and it was all over the Turkish news, Fallows says. Bits of Istanbul werent in control. The eggs were massive and I was chuffed to bits with mine, he says. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. When youre seven you cant process something like that, can you? In the context of football, that era was phenomenally good: Leeds in Europe and another trip to the continent always waiting around the corner. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. A few hours later two Leeds supporters, Kevin Speight, 40, and Christopher Loftus, 37, were dead from stab wounds. "This was a premeditated attack," said Steve Wilkinson, who suffered knife wounds to one leg and a wound to his hand. 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. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. The only thing I could compare it to is the One Love concert in Manchester (held after the terrorist bombing at the Manchester Arena in 2017) and thats purely because of how difficult the logistics of One Love were, he says. Will Griffee For Mailonline He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. It was our way of making sure the cameras and the world took notice of us.. 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. 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). Riots and 2 English deaths around UEFA Cup matches Galatasaray from Turkey against English teams in 2000 At least nine other people, including six Leeds fans, were injured. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. 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. It was how away days in Europe played out. We switched on the telly and it was all over the news, George says. [25] The British fans were later released without charge but were forbidden from returning to Denmark. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The shadow of Istanbul is longer for Andy Loftus. There were a few Turkish fans outside the bars we started drinking in but we didnt think much of it. Something went wrong, please try again later. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. I like that they remember him. Kevin Fallows was the clubs head of security and travelled with the players to all their fixtures in Europe. As a Turkish man is found guilty in Istanbul of murdering two Leeds United fans, the BBC gauges the reaction of local people. But when it came to Istanbul, he and the club were remarkable in reacting quickly and with compassion. For Leedss staff and players, the details of what had occurred in Taksim Square the night before remained sketchy until after full-time. 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. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. "We did amazing business in one hour. "Once more English hooligans, once more, blood," said the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper. Obviously he liked his football too. 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. That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. 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. The manager of Leeds, David O'Leary, had voiced fears of being met at the airport by "a 100-strong rentamob". Witnesses said he had been bludgeoned by police as he cradled a dying Chris in the street. Spencer interrupted dinner to advise Ridsdale that they should return to the hotel immediately. , updated Andy Loftus had flown to watch the match with his brother. The police were knocking everyone about, says Paul Holmes, a friend of the Loftuses who was in Taksim Square when the violence broke out. [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. There was a sense of relief to be leaving, he says, but I knew that flying out of Istanbul wasnt the end of it. Some Arsenal fans reacted negatively to the news, claiming that there was still bad blood between the two sets of supporters and were concerned that there would be a resumption of hostilities between them.[51]. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. My sisters had a word and told me to sort myself out. Even now I get the feeling that people think we started it, Andy says.
Does Walgreens Recycle Pill Bottles,
James Galante Sopranos,
Honduras Crime And Safety Report 2020,
Articles G