2023 BBC. Thats just how the system worked. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. It was our way of making sure the cameras and the world took notice of us.. The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. 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). 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. I went off the rails, he says. 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. Speight arrived soon after and was seen chatting to midfielder Alan Smith as they walked through the breezy foyer at Ataturk Airport. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. [39] Later on, British media blame also transferred towards Galatasaray fans. Some claimed the English sparked it by throwing beer glasses at passing women pedestrians. It sunk in quickly once we got home. Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. 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. Hed just met a girl. Gray remembers OLeary going out of the team hotel to visit a barbers for a shave beforehand. 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 deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans . Galatasaray beat English team Leeds United but their matches were marred by violence: two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death before their semi-final first leg at Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul on 6 April 2000. Give our social media channels a follow . 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. Whether this should dictate a transfer like the one Alioski was asked to ponder is a matter of opinion. Andy has paid for the plaque to be cleaned a couple of times and it could do with another polish now. Speights son, George, is no longer the cheeky kid with floppy hair smiling brightly in the photograph of his father he digs out. Everyones different., A brass plaque commemorating Speight and Lofus was set into brickwork outside Elland Road in 2001. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. You dont take much notice of whats said because youre out there for a beer and a laugh. As a Turkish man is found guilty in Istanbul of murdering two Leeds United fans, the BBC gauges the reaction of local people. "Their chanting should make Ali Sami Yen [the Galatasaray stadium] hell for Leeds United.". As a free agent, he had a decision to make about how best to look after himself with his 30th birthday coming next year (and in the end, looking after himself meant joining Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia last night). A week or so later, we lost 4-0 to Arsenal. It makes me proud. Like his father, George has the nickname Spag. [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. junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. I genuinely feared for our lives. Gala is an awful football club and Alioski is an awful footballer. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The Turkish media blamed the Leeds fans. Twenty Leeds fans, witnesses to the fight, were interviewed. Its a game. Galatasaray 3-2 HangiKredi mraniyespor MORE. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). [40], The Danish police were also criticised for their handling of the riots. The second leg was totally different. People speak well of him. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. He just happened to run into some tossers with knives., George was so young that the aftermath almost strayed into boyhood adventure. Who really cares?. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Association with the tragedy can be difficult. "There's a lot of anger. Welcome to Hell, Galatasaray liked to say. Wed spoken about doing something beforehand, he says. Every year, the families of Kevin Speight and Chris Loftus place wreathes at the plaque and go together for a drink, to catch up and reflect. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. And thats without even mentioning what had gone on the night before with the two lads who were killed. The first time he went inside to be present, he sat with friends and cried. They thought we were looking for a sporting advantage, which is just incredible. Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. The away supporters responded with songs about two Leeds fans who were stabbed to death in Istanbul prior to a fixture against Galatasaray in 2000. . Matt White tweeted: "Wesley Sneijder tweeting a personalised Galatasaray knife set on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 2 Leeds fans in Istanbul? Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. Over a coffee in Starbucks, George Speight finds a way to be philosophical about his fathers death. 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. 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. I didnt want to do it either. 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. There isnt much that unnerves me but that was quite a scary moment. He was eight when the deaths occurred and he was 25 when he came to England as a professional. I like that they remember him. Through different eyes and different viewpoints, a picture built up of the disregard and indifference with which they had been treated by those they looked to for help. 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. zhuri james net worth 2021 / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes / low carb ground beef and spinach recipes Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. 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. Looking at it from where the fans were standing, Id have been as angry as them. Convictions were quashed, appeals were repetitive and it is far from clear how much of their respective sentences were served. 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. Bits of Istanbul werent in control. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. [38], In 2013, Arsenal invited Galatasaray to compete at their annual Emirates Cup tournament. They had been a couple since their teens. [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. 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. I dont know if the club encouraged them to do that but you were well aware of objects hitting the shields. I am happy and I hope everyone else can be too. [29], In all, four people were stabbed during the riots: two English, one Turkish and one Dutch fan. 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. 'There were a lot of other clubs out there but this is perfect for me. The slit-throat gestures from fans as we arrived on the bus. David Davies, the Football Association's executive director, called it "frankly, the least worst option". Even so, the counterargument holds water. The facilities are great. 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. I know bits and bats but it doesnt help me to go over it, he says. "Most were kind, but there were five or six really crazy guys. Several fans offered to foot the bill. The setting was Turkeys biggest city, on the banks of the Bosphorus, and the game was the first leg of a UEFA Cup semi-final. They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". 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. Fallows is convinced that Galatasaray and the Turkish police made deliberate attempts to rattle and unsettle away teams, forcing players to squeeze through tight lines of officers to gain entry to the ground and admitting thousands of home fans to the stadium hours before kick-off.
Who Is Malia Andelin, Trilogy Golf Membership Cost, Tennessee Drug Bust 2020, Funniest Obituaries Ever Written, Articles G