Both had numerous other wounds. 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. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. They felt we were overreacting and on the day of the game in Istanbul there was no attempt to make sure the match passed off safely or securely, not that I could see. [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. 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. So Leeds did. It was our way of making sure the cameras and the world took notice of us.. By the time the match kicked off, the ramifications of two fatal stabbings the previous. Its completely different. I feel sorry for her, George says. It was the same at the second leg when I had to stand and look after Galatasarays main man at Elland Road. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. The bodies were repatriated a few days later, beginning the process of mourning and funerals. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. Galatasaray wanted me from the start. The cause of the fighting which broke out after dark in Istanbul was a subject of fierce contention in the weeks after the stabbings. "We came out of a bar and there were 100 people waiting for us with machetes, knives, bits of chair and table legs and they just attacked us. 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. Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. They had been a couple since their teens. As. There were reports that a Galatasaray fan had run to a telephone to call for support when he saw Leeds fans arriving. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. Galatasaray accused him of trying to gain an unfair sporting advantage. My sisters had a word and told me to sort myself out. But he didnt make much of it, like it was something of nothing. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. Loftuss brother Andy jokes that he had thicker hair back in the day. In 2014 he was spoken to by a Turkish website, a free man again. As a family, I dont know how you come to terms with that., Inside the Ali Sami Yen, hundreds of Leeds supporters attended the first leg as planned and were housed in a small section of yellow seats. 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. He had been up all night receiving news of the stabbings, inflicted during violence which broke out on the eve of a UEFA Cup tie between Leeds and Galatasaray. Galatasaray 2 - 1 Fraport TAV Antalyaspor MORE. Loftus had already been pronounced dead and in the melee, hospital staff mistakenly assumed Ridsdale was a relative and took him downstairs to the mortuary. [37] Leeds United also banned three of their fans from Elland Road after they had been identified in pictures of the riots. But when it came to Istanbul, he and the club were remarkable in reacting quickly and with compassion. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. 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. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. He has a busy job as an electrician and a twinkle in his eye. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. [16] Dineen was released from hospital later in the day and attended the match as a guest of the Arsenal directors. 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. Can you list the top facts and stats about 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence? [20], Then, in a calculated attack, approximately 500 Arsenal fans[19] attacked from the main road behind the Galatasaray fans. 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. I got a lot of abuse for that and no wonder. 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. "I haven't seen a single Englishman all day," said a newspaper vendor. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. His brother was following behind us and, quite understandably, he lost it. Nigel Martyn has exclusively told LeedsUnited.News that playing against Galatasaray in the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000 - just 24 hours after the murders of two Leeds fans - is to this day, his biggest regret in football. 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. I went for some counselling and didnt go through with all of it but the charity work helped. 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. Wed heard that Istanbul could be a bit dangerous but we never thought anything of it, Andy says. 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. Leeds always kept records of who was travelling and which hotels they were using. [4] Police arrested Ali Umit Demir and three other men for the stabbings. "They were screaming all sorts of things. [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. [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. Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch international who . 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. At the hotel, Phil went up to his room. 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. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. 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 atmosphere was electric like, scarily electric. Within an hour of the stabbings in central Istanbul, some of David OLearys squad emerged to speak to him. 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 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. Uefa, after consultation with the clubs and the Turkish authorities, wavered but eventually decided to go ahead. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. 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. A group of rival fans gathered and jeers were exchanged. Gray, one of OLearys assistants, tried to focus his attention elsewhere. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. And I still blame myself a lot.. Forty Leeds fans arrested in the scuffles were released without charge. Anyone can read what . Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; a huge occasion for the club in a football sense, Ridsdale says. The English FA followed the line of least resistance. Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. A fortnight ago, Ridsdale was voted onto the EFLs board. Istanbul was like no other event he has dealt with. As injured and angry Leeds fans came through, he did what he could. Speight and Loftus were not close friends but knew each other in passing, as travelling football fans do. Demir lost his last appeal in 2010 and was jailed for six years and eight months. Convictions were quashed, appeals were repetitive and it is far from clear how much of their respective sentences were served. 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. We could only do what we thought was best at that moment. The journey to the stadium prior to kick-off made him wish he had forfeited it and taken the consequences. One minute youre coming out of a bar, the next youve got people running to attack you. For Leedss staff and players, the details of what had occurred in Taksim Square the night before remained sketchy until after full-time. Arsenal qualified for the final by defeating French club Lens in their semi-final. George has no recollection of his dad leaving for Istanbul or of him saying goodbye. 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. People speak well of him. He liked a drink and a laugh, simple as that, Andy says. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. Within minutes, a pitched battle erupted.