FOOTBALL: THE FINAL SAY... Turks should have been given the boot.
RANGERS accepted only 240 tickets for their Champions League match against Galatasaray in Istanbul this week.A mere handful, but given the volatile nature of the Turkish club's fans even that small number is too many.
The Ibrox side should have refused tickets and insisted that none of their fans travel to the Turkish capital. When Galatasaray are playing Istanbul can hardly be described as a safe haven for anyone. This is an unfortunate but true fact of football life.
Galatasaray's supporters would claim to be among the most committed in the world and perhaps they are. However, there is more than enough evidence to suggest they have in their midst a violent breed capable of causing trouble and pain.
They are, as the families of two Leeds United fans discovered last season, even capable of murder.
Of course just about every big club has its share of nutters who spout their bile and hatred. Indeed, in this new millennium the Old Firm find they are still lumbered with ancient and unwanted baggage in the form of religious intolerance.
The people who refuse to leave the past behind are an affront to both sides, although Celtic and Rangers should have done much more to put distance between themselves and the poisoned souls who pollute their supports.
Yet a great number of decent folk support the Old Firm and they, too, detest the bigots and the kind of evil which drove Jason Campbell to take the life of a young Celtic fan, Mark Scott, who was murdered on his way home from a match between Celtic and Partick Thistle in 1995.
In fact, the Old Firm have given their backing to the campaign against bigotry, Nil By Mouth, which was started by Mark's girfriend Cara Henderson after his murder.
It could be argued, I suppose, that because we felt the need to launch such campaigns perhaps we should be the last ones to criticise. However, it is also true that fans from foreign countries can stay in our country free from harm, which isn't the case in Istanbul.
Frankly, there is a madness about Galatasaray's followers.
At first their behaviour and their 'Welcome to Hell' banners were looked upon as colourful but, perhaps encouraged by the publicity, they quickly stepped over the line between what is and is not acceptable.
It has been reported as many as 5000 riot police will be on duty in and around the Ali Sami Yen stadium on Wednesday but perhaps they should be deployed around whichever hotel Rangers choose as their HQ. Monaco's players had some pretty scary stories to tell after their stay in Istanbul at the start of the Group D series.
Martin Djetou told of someone trying to get into his bedroom late on the first night while another player, Bruno Irles, awoke to find an intruder in his room.
Djetou also said Marco Simone took a phone call the night before Monaco's game against Galatasaray and was issued with a death threat.
Tales about the lengths to which Galatasaray's fans will go to gain any kind of advantage for their team have become legend but there is nothing to be applauded in what they do.
Instead, they should be shunned and if UEFA had any bottle at all they would have banned teams like this from their competitions long ago.
Their fans do cause trouble and there is no point in trying to deny that. They are wild and dangerous as they proved when Leeds arrived on their patch last season for a UEFA Cup tie.
The violence carried over into Copenhagen when Galatasaray met Arsenal in the final of the UEFA Cup, although some Arsenal fans were hell-bent on exacting revenge for the deaths of the two England fans in Istanbul.
Also, the Turkish association were fined for the behaviour of their fans during Euro 2000 and remember, too, that Manchester United found themselves facing extreme conditions about seven years ago when in Istanbul for a Champions League game.
Eric Cantona, admittedly not the most mellow of fellows, felt so threatened by Galatasaray's players and fans he became involved in a tussle with the police.
He was furious the riot police were offering no protection for United's players and the scenes at the end of that match were frightening.
UEFA ought to have addressed the problem long ago and had they done so two families in Leeds wouldn't have been left grieving.
Perhaps if the vast army of executives and administrators who work in UEFA's plush, modern offices in Nyon were to get out on to the streets and mingle with the game's real fans they would gain a better understanding of exactly what goes on.
Travelling from airports to five-star hotels to games in luxury coaches or in limos with police escorts keeps them well out of touch with reality. They have no idea what some fans have to put up with and if the truth be told they don't really care.
Their indifference is shameful and the bout of hand wringing and mock posturing after the killings last time a British club played in Istanbul fooled no one but hopefully paper shufflers of UEFA won't have to resort to play-acting again at the end of this week.
Hopefully Rangers and their small band of fans will get in and out of Turkey without mishap but much might depend on what happens at Elland Road between Leeds and Besiktas, who are also from Istanbul, tomorrow night.
They meet in a Group H tie and if there is any sign of trouble or reprisals from Leeds' fans it could easily spread back to Istanbul in time for Wednesday.
Then it would be sheer stupidity to believe the Turks might stop to distinguish between English and Scottish, as has been suggested. After all, Rangers fans carry Union Jacks and by the time Wednesday comes these flags could have the same effect as a red rag to a bull.
Rangers fans should exercise extreme caution. Of course, if they were really smart they just wouldn't travel to Istanbul.
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Author: | Traynor, James |
| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Sep 25, 2000 |
| Words: | 1016 |
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