They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". Asked shortly afterwards whether he thought the tie would still go ahead, Mr Ridsdale said: "It's too early to say. [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. 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 . [32] The rest were fined an equivalent of $500 and banned from Denmark for a year.[33]. "They were screaming all sorts of things. 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. In contrast, what Leeds saw in Galatasaray was a baffling lack of sympathy. 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. The first the Leeds players heard of the incident in Taksim Square was when phone calls started reaching them in their hotel. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. #RIPChrisAndKev. 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. The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. He visited his fathers body in the chapel of rest across the road, bringing pictures he had drawn for him with felt tips. Matt White tweeted: "Wesley Sneijder tweeting a personalised Galatasaray knife set on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 2 Leeds fans in Istanbul? You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. The second leg was totally different. [36], In August 2000, Arsenal banned thirty-seven people involved in the Copenhagen riot from Arsenal's Highbury stadium. Gjanni Alioski Leeds to Galatasaray transfer talks end for - TEAMtalk That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. The 45-year-old was an unused sub when Leeds were defeated by Galatasaray in an infamous 1999-00 Uefa Cup semi-finals - a match that was overshadowed by the death of two Yorkshire fans in the . The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. [45] It later arose that the majority of the people in the photos were either not involved or had been acting in self-defence. They didnt care., The Speights were different and left the criminal cases alone. We had to say to them as clearly as we could, If you go into the streets, if you go out drinking, we cant tell you how dangerous itll be. 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. In Turkey, two supporters were murdered. US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. 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. 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. Leeds and Galatasaray fans clashed in violent scenes in April 2000 at 21:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square Following the two tragic deaths, local police arrested and charged four Galatasaray. Ridsdale was told by staff at the hospital that Speight was in a critical condition and needed an urgent transfusion but that the blood had to be paid for. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans . You ask them one by one if 20 years have helped them process what happened. Acquittal plea in soccer death trial. By that stage he was exhausted. Andy got a pint at the bar. 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. Leeds fans RAGING at Ezgjan Alioski transfer links to Galatasaray Eddie Gray is crouching down as he runs up from underground and into the open air. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. Istanbul was like no other event he has dealt with. According to a waiter at a nearby restaurant, the Turkish club's fanatical fans had heard through the grapevine that trouble was brewing. Those killed were "attackers", it said. 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. 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. 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 previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. When he arrived at the hospital, Darren was in a bed with head injuries. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. 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. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. The city centre was tense but, thanks to a massive police presence, mainly empty. Spencer interrupted dinner to advise Ridsdale that they should return to the hotel immediately. The brothers went to the British Embassy but, in Andys words, found them to be worse than useless. 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. Both had numerous other wounds. 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. The police claim he was punched. My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. They thought we were looking for a sporting advantage, which is just incredible. 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. SOCCER; Amid Heightened Security, Galatasaray Defeats Leeds He must have been off his head., Ian Harte, the left-back, is more vivid in describing it. Turkish eye-witnesses accused Leeds fans of insulting women, defacing the Turkish flag, urinating in the street and tipping over a car. By 10.30pm some of the rowdiest fans left the James Joyce and joined a crowd outside McDonalds just off Taksim Square. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. For a couple of days afterwards you run on adrenaline, he says. I didnt feel that their response was what our response would have been. galatasaray leeds death - kikuyajp.com UEFA, after a week of consideration, agreed with Leeds. OFFICIAL DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR THE VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE MORE. I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. Anywhere else in Europe, I doubt it would have been played. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. And thats without even mentioning what had gone on the night before with the two lads who were killed. [18] Later, large numbers of Galatasaray fans congregated in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, raising the Turkish flag in the square. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. Leeds head of security at the game recalled police officers lining the corridors in Galatasarays ground as the players emerged from the dressing room; an attempt, in his eyes, to intimidate them as they prepared to go onto the pitch. The Loftuses had travelled to Turkey on the same flight as David OLearys players. Everything about that whole occasion was shocking. Surprise me? [3] Leeds fans had been drinking in bars reportedly taunting local people and Turkish police intervened to stop fights breaking out. 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. 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. [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. [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. [10] It was reported that members of Leeds United's Leeds United Service Crew[11] and Chelsea's Chelsea Headhunters, along with hooligans supporting Rangers, Cardiff City and Swansea City all travelled to Denmark to join Arsenal fans in attacks on Galatasaray fans. Read about our approach to external linking. Absolutely amazed and totally stunned. But it had to be done., In the circumstances, did it surprise Fallows that the game in Istanbul went ahead? Our Daz was there and he told me the full story. Wed spoken about doing something beforehand, he says. [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].