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UEFA puts off decision on Leeds-Galatasaray match to Friday |
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April
13, 2000 NYON, Switzerland, APR 12 (UNB/AP) - UEFA put off until Friday a decision on next week's potentially volatile UEFA Cup second-leg semifinal between Leeds United and Galatasaray to allow the Turkish club to respond to security reports from Britain. European soccer's governing body had been expected to rule Wednesday on arrangements for the April 20 match in Leeds following the stabbing deaths of two English fans in Istanbul last week. Leeds has called for Turkish fans to be banned from the game to prevent further violence. Galatasaray wants the game moved to a neutral venue if its fans are barred from travelling to Leeds. "The decision should be taken Friday afternoon at the latest," UEFA spokesman Thomas Giordano said Wednesday. In a statement, UEFA said the delay was to allow time to "fully evaluate written submissions from both sides before making a decision" and avoid a repeat of the street violence that left two English fans dead. Five Turkish men were jailed Monday in connection with the deaths. Four were charged with murder and the fifth was held on lesser charges. Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale said Tuesday he was confident UEFA would ban Galatasaray fans from the match. But on Wednesday he sounded uncertain and said his team might pull out of the UEFA Cup if the match is switched to a neutral venue. "The position is that if we are told to play the game on a neutral ground we would have to consider our position with regard to further participation in the competition," Ridsdale said. Galatasaray has said it will comply with whatever UEFA decides and has no intention of withdrawing from the competition. UEFA has asked Leeds whether it can guarantee security if Turkish supporters are admitted to the Elland Road stadium. It has also asked the club about "security implications" if Turkish supporters arrive in Leeds but are denied entry. UEFA said it has received written submissions from Leeds, England's Football Association and the "relevant national and local security authorities." Giordano declined to give details of their contents. "Regarding what we've received ... we have to give Galatasaray a chance to express their point of view," he said. Galatasaray general secretary Sinan Kalpakcioglu has been critical of Ridsdale for seeking the ban on Turkish fans. Ridsdale has accused the Turkish club of trying to use the killings as a way of reaching the final without playing the second leg match. Kalpakcioglu said the violence in Istanbul took place away from the soccer pitch and insisted it was unfair to blame Galatasaray. A center-right Turkish lawmaker, Rasim Zaimoglu, said he wants go to Leeds for the game and urged the entire Turkish parliament to do the same, the daily Hurriyet reported Wednesday. Zaimoglu was quoted as saying that he hoped 10,000 Turks would be at Elland Road. Only 1,700 tickets were to be made available to Turkish fans. Galatasaray won the first-leg semifinal 2-0 on April 6. Ridsdale said some of his young players received telephoned death threats in their Istanbul hotel rooms hours after last week's killings. In a related matter, Turkey's tourism ministry suspended advertisements for Turkey on British television and radio to disassociate itself from last week's clashes, press reports said Wednesday The ministry also postponed a dlrs 3 million deal with Galatasaray to place Turkey's national logo on the Turkish players' jerseys, newspapers said. |