‘I cradled my lifeless brother after soccer hooligans struck with knives and kebab skewers’
EXCLUSIVE It’s set to be an emotional night at Elland Road on Friday, as Leeds United mark one of the darkest chapters in their club’s history on the 25th anniversary of Chris and Kev’s death
Emotions will run high at Elland Road on Friday, when Leeds United mark the darkest moment in the club’s history.
Almost a thousand people will pack into the Pavilion suite, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murders of two supporters in Istanbul in 2000.
Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight had travelled to the Turkish capital to watch Leeds take on Galatasaray in the semi finals of the UEFA Cup.
But the pair returned home in coffins, having been ambushed and fatally stabbed by members of Galatasaray’s infamous ‘Night Watchmen’ gang, after violent scenes erupted in Taksim Square.
Christopher’s brother Andrew Loftus survived the horrors that unfolded that fateful night, which included one fan being slashed across his face, and others forced into making tourniquets to help stem the bleeding of those attacked.
He’s carried the pain of losing his brother for a quarter of a century, and rarely speaks of what took place.
But Andrew fought back tears to remember how an evening drinking beers and watching football on TV, ended with him having to witness his sibling lying dead in a foreign hospital.
He said: “I’d gone back to the hotel, but people were saying something had happened. I jumped in a taxi and headed back to Taksim Square, but we got ushered over to the hospital.
“I saw my brother, Daz, laying in a hospital bed. He’d been attacked by the police. I then cradled Chris. They were attacked by hundreds of people, with knives, kebab skewers, anything they could get their hands on.
“It was wave after wave of attack. We later found out it was the shoe shine boys who had been stalking us throughout that afternoon. Following us about and then noticed a few of us had drifted off from the main bulk of Leeds fans.
“It was unreal. I had to go and identify Chris in the morgue. It was a crazy blur. Charlie (real name Mark Valentine), who had been giving Chris the kiss of life, the police arrested him and tried to make him sign a false statement.
“They arrested all of us. It was all pointed at us. Claiming we’d besmirched flags and turned cars over. We’d done nothing. They (police) were beating Daz, while he was holding Chris. We were out of our minds, in shock without a clue what to do. We were lost.”
Andrew flew home the following day, having been forced to do the unthinkable and leave his deceased brother back in Istanbul.
He said: “Peter (Ridsdale, then chairman) came down to the hospital, at great risk to himself. There was no security in the hospital. What he did that night was unreal.
“We flew home the next day. All I had left was Chris’s bag. We just packed up his stuff from the room and sat on the flight, cradling his bag and crying.”
Ridsdale and former manager David O’Leary will attend the dinner, along with a host of ex-players and dignitaries. Organiser Gareth Senior was with the Loftus’s that night – and experienced sickening trauma himself.
He admits it will be a poignant evening because Chris’s son George, who was four at the time of his dad’s death, is about to become a father for the first time himself.
He said: “I don’t think it ever goes away. And it’s got harder down the years, because you realise what these two have missed out on.
“There are some unbreakable bonds created between some of those who were there. There’s a lot of responsibility and I can’t sleep, worrying about it going well.”
The event will help raise money for the Candlelighters charity, which helps children suffering with cancer. To donate, please go to: In Memory of Chris & Kev, 25 years on
