Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? The most famous proclaimed: "Welcome to Hell". Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. In 1993, their first Champions League adventure ended with a violent trip to Galatasaray. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Then, in Keane's words: "all hell broke loose". "I must say inside the stadium it was, a great, incredible atmosphere," said Pallister. Schmeichel had his sleep disturbed by constant calls that were put through to his hotel room. 3:3 (2: 2) Old Trafford | Attendance: 39.396 ... Galatasaray SK. There were many banners greeting Manchester United as they arrived in Istanbul. Supporting your club in the stadium? "One of the bellboys was standing by the door and I smiled at him. "While the rest of us just wanted to get out of there, Eric was determined to sort out the rogue cop who had been wielding his truncheon. He insisted he was going to kill that f***er. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. 2:2: 0:1: 1:5: 4:1: 3:0: 1:0: 3:3: 0:6: Man Utd - Galatasaray . "I remember we were staying in this beautiful place on the Bosphorus. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. "The second leg was very intimidating and I have never experienced anything like it in my life," said Pallister. Not in Istanbul but at Old Trafford. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? They were not safe on the two-decker coach that had its windows put through and they were not safe in the dressing rooms. For more than a decade before, it had been assumed any violence abroad must have been instigated by Englishmen. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. If you think this is Hell, try the Graft on a Friday night. Supporting your club in the stadium? The match itself was the least memorable part of the whole story, a goalless draw that in Roy Keane's eyes saw Galatasaray "pull every stroke in the book, diving, time-wasting, badgering the referee," to obtain the result that would eliminate United on the away-goals rule. Nine minutes from time, Cantona equalised but when the cameras pan to Ferguson's face, the Manchester United manager is entirely unmoved, realising perhaps that the damage had been done but not in the way he might have expected. It was not just the police truncheon aimed against the back of Eric Cantona's head or the riot shield that gashed Bryan Robson's hand. It is not just because they are back in Istanbul today, preparing to face the same opponents, albeit in a different stadium to the Ali Sami Yen, which in November 1993 created the single most intimidating atmosphere Sir Alex Ferguson says he has ever endured. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. ", Kick-off Tonight, 7.45pm, Turk Telekom Arena. Many were detained on the flimsiest of pretexts, some were beaten, some had their possessions stolen. It was the fact that 164 Manchester United supporters were arrested and flung into a variety of Turkish cells. There were reports that in one plane carrying 209 fans back to Manchester only eight had been allowed inside the Ali Sami Yen. It used to be a palace and had an absolutely massive foyer. "Peter Schmeichel got hold of one of them and ushered him off the pitch, if you like. "And towards the end of the game, they had two fans run on to the pitch with a flag," Pallister recalled. Some said it would be their last 48 hours alive. 3:3 (2: 2) This match has not been attend by any other user . We had won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1991 but this was almost our first Champions League experience away from home. In 1993, their first Champions League adventure ended with a violent trip to Galatasaray. Galatasaray had played brilliantly to overturn a two-goal lead and when Kubilay Turkyilmaz seized on a shot to score the third, the Turkish television commentator seems almost to be hyperventilating. As the players descended into the underground dressing-rooms, Cantona was attacked by a policeman and so, too, was Robson as he tried to intervene. GS. Most of it was directed at Cantona, who had been dismissed in the closing seconds for insulting the Swiss referee, Kurt Röthlisberger, whom he was to allege without providing any evidence had been "bought". He was serious. "Eric was a big, strong lad. Ten months later, Manchester United found themselves back in Istanbul, at the same hotel, playing Galatasaray. Nearly two decades on, Manchester United's goalless draw against Galatasaray still resonates. They could only have come in with the police's say-so. "There were so many flares and so much smoke, it seemed the entire stadium was on fire," Gary Neville recalled. It was the first leg, a compelling, endlessly dramatic 3-3 draw that sowed the bitter seeds for what was to follow in Turkey. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Some players had money stolen from their rooms; Ferguson discovered his Filofax was missing. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Manchester United In Galatasaray: The 1993 Trip To Hell (PICTURES/VIDEO) 1 / 20. I was the last off the bus carrying my kit and was maybe 30 yards behind the rest of the lads as they were checking in. It took the combined efforts of the manager, Brian Kidd and a few of the players to restrain him." We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Hell had lost some of its fire and when Liverpool faced Galatasaray some years later their fans carried a banner which drew on some of their experiences of the Grafton, described by those in the know as one of Merseyside's "low-budget, grab-a-granny nightclub. The players were ordered to shower two at a time so Cantona would not be left alone in the dressing room. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Referee: Peter Mikkelsen. Second Round 1st leg | No holiday without live football? "We were not then an experienced European team. He ran his finger across his throat and I carried on walking, thinking: 'We are not safe even in this hotel'.".   |  8:05 PM  |  2nd leg: 0:0, Old Trafford  |  Attendance: 39.396 They were not so much intimidated as astonished as the supporters in one stand chanted to those in another. However, the sting had been drawn from the fixture by a Uefa announcement that, because of violence in Galatasaray's qualifier in Luxembourg, any further disruptions would lead to their expulsion. Very few actually saw the game. There was to be a coda. ", "Welcome to Hell, my arse! Ali Sami Yen Stadyumu, Istanbul. Man. HuffPost is part of Verizon Media. Then he was led to the bus, which was soon to have bricks put through its windows. Gary Pallister is back where it all began. The phone-calls recounting the stories remain the finest hour of Radio Five's 606 football show and its then presenter, David Mellor. Over the next few minutes there were threats made to Peter from the stands.". "In the dressing room, Eric went crazy," Keane recalled in his autobiography. It also matters because, eight years after the shame and horror of the Heysel disaster, it demonstrated that English fans could be victims. They let the supporters in at the airport with all the 'Welcome to Hell' banners. Oct 20, 1993 8:05 PM . "Everything seemed as if it was allowed to be attacked. This match has not been attend by any other user. Manchester United v Galatasaray, 1993 – podcast A new series from The Guardian, featuring the best stories from the beautiful game that you may never have heard before, written by … The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Galatasaray, 1993: The night when all hell broke loose on Manchester United. It was all about taking a team out of its comfort zone and, if you have done that, then you have won half the battle. United. With Transfermarkt's Groundhopping tool, you can collect all of your matches in one list and view lots of statistics. Others said: "RIP Manchester". "It was just the shenanigans that surrounded the match that made it so unpleasant.". The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Galatasaray, 1993: The night when all hell broke loose on Manchester United, Galatasaray, 1993: The night when all hell broke loose on Manchester, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Simply register as a Transfermarkt user and start collecting. No holiday without live football? 03/11/1993. An hour before kick-off, Ferguson ordered his players on to the pitch to take in the atmosphere. Manchester United In Istanbul 1 / 20. For using this site, please activate JavaScript.