lisa left eye zodiac sign Search. This morning the Dutch international tweeted: "Finally my GalatasaraySK knife set is now available and can be delivered everywhere.". Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. [32] The rest were fined an equivalent of $500 and banned from Denmark for a year.[33]. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, Leeds players needed protection from police with riot shields before their game against Galatasaray in 2000 (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images). It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. In contrast, what Leeds saw in Galatasaray was a baffling lack of sympathy. If someone could have shown me those levels of intimidation, Id have refused to play the game unhesitatingly. More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. As injured and angry Leeds fans came through, he did what he could. They will never be forgotten.. I didnt want to do it either. One minute youre coming out of a bar, the next youve got people running to attack you. It sounds daft but I dont think I knew how to react. "Kevin had two young children. Will Griffee For Mailonline "I haven't seen a single Englishman all day," said a newspaper vendor. 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. You dont take much notice of whats said because youre out there for a beer and a laugh. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". I stood there with Eddie Gray, Fallows says. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. I dont think, even to this day, that Galatasaray would see the amount of press coverage or criticism as being fairly labelled against them, Risdale says. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. On the 21st anniversary of Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus' deaths on April 5 2000, Martyn also recalls the immediate reaction of the Leeds squad . Though the versions of Leeds fans and Turkish witnesses are almost entirely at odds, it appears the trouble started in the city's entertainment district outside the Riddim reggae bar in Buyuk Parmakkapi Street. But eventually the issue of what to do about the game had to be addressed. "There's a lot of anger. 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. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). The atmosphere was electric like, scarily electric. 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. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. Anyone can read what . The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. 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. And there was the time when Speight took him to Elland Road and George, in his infancy, mistakenly cheered when the opposition scored. My mum just felt she had to move on. [36], In August 2000, Arsenal banned thirty-seven people involved in the Copenhagen riot from Arsenal's Highbury stadium. It was a load of shit. Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed in Istanbul on the eve of Leeds' Uefa Cup semi-final tie against Galatasaray in April 2000. The bodies were repatriated a few days later, beginning the process of mourning and funerals. Give our social media channels a follow . They carried beer glasses outside, we couldn't stop them, and others followed." 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. He described the Turkish policing as diabolical and out of control. Ridsdale can visualise it all 21 years on: the lay-out of the hospital, the chaos inside, the panicked confusion. He was with Darren Loftus, Christopher's brother who had travelled with him, to identify his body. Kewell was quoted after joining Galatasaray as saying that to blame Galatasaray for the tragedy in Istanbul is simply wrong and discriminatory. Both families come here each April 5, to lay flowers and let another year pass. They then broke into an apartment building to threaten Kosovan refugees with a knife, mistakenly believing them to be Turkish. [37] Leeds United also banned three of their fans from Elland Road after they had been identified in pictures of the riots. Witnesses said he had been bludgeoned by police as he cradled a dying Chris in the street. Given that context and these examples only really scratch the surface of everything that happened in April 2000 there was no way in which a player like Gjanni Alioski could consider leaving Leeds and joining Galatasaray, as he did for many months, without bracing himself for a tense political path and the objection he encountered online. It was only when Gray arrived home that his parents asked if he was OK and told him about the many Rangers fans who had died. The driver said hed turn it off but I wanted to listen to it. The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. The shadow of Istanbul is longer for Andy Loftus. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. 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. I am not sure if the first few expected fighting but I saw one guy running to a telephone to call his friends after he saw the English. He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. A few hours later two Leeds supporters, Kevin Speight, 40, and Christopher Loftus, 37, were dead from stab wounds. [4], It was not clear how the fight started, with reports of it either being started by Leeds fans throwing beer glasses and insulting the Turkish flag,[5] or being started by Galatasaray fans throwing chairs. It was obvious that Galatasaray were making no concession for what had taken place, so that was our form of protest. My sisters had a word and told me to sort myself out. UEFA also requested that fences be put up around the perimeter of the pitch. I went for some counselling and didnt go through with all of it but the charity work helped. 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. From my point of view I was only interested in getting that game over and done with as safely as possible. 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. My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. Outside, Leeds fans reportedly taunted Turkish men. Early relaxation gave way to brutal battle as rivals taunted each other, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. Leeds supporters in Istanbul were told to stay in their hotels. My mum flicked it straight off again. It wasnt a proper A&E unit. This led to the two Leeds fans being stabbed. 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Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. The day after the riots, FA Executive Director David Davies, issued an apology for the violence. Thats what they were, kids. No question.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. Holmes was there and witnessed the entire away end turning their backs to the pitch with arms raised, an act of silent defiance and dissent. The Loftuses fought for justice for as long as they could. galatasaray leeds death; marfan criteria calculator; galatasaray leeds death. Surprise me? Acquittal plea in soccer death trial. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans being banned from attending the second leg in England. ', Some wrote stronger messages, such as: 'Washed my hands with Alioski if he f***s off to those vermin. 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. He visited his fathers body in the chapel of rest across the road, bringing pictures he had drawn for him with felt tips. I prefer to go to the plaque at Elland Road, he says. 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. 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. Its a strange thing but its important to me. The potential for trouble was as high as anything Id been involved in. [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. "Their chanting should make Ali Sami Yen [the Galatasaray stadium] hell for Leeds United.". Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; "a huge occasion for the club in a football sense," Ridsdale says. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. ', While a third posted: 'They suit each other. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. How can it be that two lads go to watch a football game and dont come back?. 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. It is wrong to presume to tell those who were affected by the events in Istanbul how to feel or how to react to a player taking Galatasarays money. There were reports that a Galatasaray fan had run to a telephone to call for support when he saw Leeds fans arriving. 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 felt we were overreacting. In all the many layers of anger, that was one of them; the apparent inability to adopt some common decency. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, George and Holly Speight with Peter Ridsdale after their fathers death. It didnt sit right with me. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. 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. I knew the ramifications would be life-long., (Photo: Phil Noble PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images), 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. Wed heard that Istanbul could be a bit dangerous but we never thought anything of it, Andy says. Ridsdale still struggles to accept Galatasarays indifferent reaction to the stabbings. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. I genuinely feared for our lives. [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. And many have voiced their opinion on social media following a report by Football Insider that Alioski has agreed a pre-contract to join the rivals in the summer. [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. [23] The violence, which included fans from other English clubs[24] and Turks living in Denmark,[25] lasted for 45 minutes. [48] In 2001, the tribunal ruled in their favour,[49] and ordered Royal Mail to reinstate them. The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. [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. 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. [12] However, there were conflicting reports, with claims that some Galatasaray fans were instigating some of the violence. I went off the rails, he says. Both had numerous other wounds. 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. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. The brother of one of two Leeds United fans killed in Turkey 20 years ago says his death is "still fresh in my memory". He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 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. For a couple of days afterwards you run on adrenaline, he says. You ask them one by one if 20 years have helped them process what happened. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. Leeds have never forgiven Eric Cantona for . I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. 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. 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. Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. 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. 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. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". . Theyd turned on their tellies and it was all over the Turkish news, Fallows says. For George, the clearest memories of his dad are few and slightly random. The passing of time is there in all of them. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. Demir was allowed to undertake national service with the Turkish military before being convicted for a second time in June 2007 and sentenced to 80 months. Read about our approach to external linking. Who really cares?. You mention him over Farsley way and people respect him.
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