The Ministry has been following with close attention the  events in England after the deplorable incidents which resulted in the deaths of two Leeds United supporters on the eve of the first leg of UEFA cup semifinal match between Galatasaray and Leeds United in Istanbul on April 6, 2000. In this context, the British authorities have been keeping our Ministry informed of the current developments in England and the Ministry has already transmitted this information to the relevant authorities. The Ministry has remained in contact with the Galatasaray Club and has also done everything necessary since the beginning.

Following the regrettable events in Istanbul, The Turkish Ambassador in London have sent letters of condolences to the Chairman of Leeds United Football Club as well as to the families of two British citizens who were killed in Istanbul.

Furthermore, the Ministry has also asked the British side to take all necessary measures to protect the Turks and Turkish interests in the United Kingdom both before and during the forthcoming second-leg match. Likewise, we are in touch with the British Embassy in Ankara in this regard. The response of the British authorities to the Turkish side requests has been positive.

On the other hand, Foreign Minister H.E.İsmail Cem sent a letter to the British Foreign Minister H.E. Robin Cook expressing his sorrow on the regrettable incidents which took place before the match in Istanbul and afterwards in the Britain. In his letter, stating that the Turkish people share the grief of families of the two victims, the Minister underlined that the Turkish authorities had acted immediately following the incident to bring the criminals to Justice. Minister Cem also stressed that such unfortunate events must be kept in context and traditional friendship and good relations between the two countries and peoples should be preserved. In addition, expressing that Turkey has been seriously disturbed by the racially motivated attacks against two Turkish citizens and Turkish interests in England he asked the British authorities to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such further incidents and to ensure that common sense prevails for the conduct of the upcoming game in a friendly and secure atmosphere.

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