Police: 300 'most ruthless' hooligans to defy Istanbul ban

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Police: 300 ‘most ruthless’ hooligans to defy Istanbul ban
ban
Denis Campbell and Ed Vulliamy
Sunday October 5, 2003

There will be a strict football match in Istanbul between turkey and England. The articles are interesting about this match. As if there will be battle in Istanbul

…Meanwhile, Turkish football fans have warned any England fan who defies the FA’s pleas and slips the security net: show respect for our country and flag, or you’re done for. Turkish fans are ready to counter any revenge planned by England fans for the killing of Leeds United supporters Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight after a Uefa Cup game against Galatasaray of Istanbul in 2000, and previous clashes with Manchester United fans.

A special summit meeting between the highly organised ‘Ultra’ gangs supporting Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe was called last weekend at a restaurant high above the city to discuss unity against England and any English fans who might provoke them at the fixture.

The leader of the Galatasaray pack, Sabahattin Sabin, and a man called Sefa, his counterpart at Fenerbahçe, stressed that their gangs would not start trouble against England fans, but that insults to Turkey and the Turkish flag in particular would ‘be punished’. ‘What we are saying is this,’ concluded a fan called Oguz Altay, ‘we will not attack, but if the English mock our country and our flag, we won’t be too gentle in our response.’ In the Istanbul suburb of Umraniye, professed members of a Galatasaray gang called ‘Stay Out All Night’ that supposedly carried out the attack on the Leeds supporters were more overt in their threats.

Willing to admit that they all carry knives, one of the number, Ekrem Altayh, said: ‘We are faster because the English are always drunk. If you abuse this country like Leeds did, you die again.’

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This is the last hope to stop these fans :slight_smile:

Turkish imams shun soccer expletives

Fans have been told to express excitement legitimately
Turkey’s Muslim leaders have urged football fans to refrain from using foul language when cheering on their teams.
Imams around the country called on worshippers during Friday prayers to use instead phrases like “May Allah preserve you” (Maasallah) and “Blessed Allah” (Barek Allah) when shouting at the players, the private NTV station said.

One leading Istanbul cleric, Bayram Erdogan, said it was good for fans to express their excitement, but it needed to be done in a legitimate way - and applause and praising Allah was suitable.

Turkey has recently emerged as one of the leading football nations, but its passion for the game has been marred by outbreaks of violence involving supporters.

In August, a man was killed and 50 wounded when supporters clashed during a derby in the western city of Izmir.

And two fans of England’s Leeds United were killed in violent clashes with supporters of the Istanbul club Galatasaray in April 2000.

Police regularly search fans for weapons as they enter stadiums.

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I have a feeling that some English yobs will get past the barriers and turn up in Istanbul. It wouldn't surprise me if a few end up dead.