Keegan: 'Leeds tie was wrong'

Harry Kewell is protected by police before the match

England manager Kevin Keegan says Leeds' Uefa Cup semi-final against Galatasaray should have been called off after the murder of two English fans.

The Elland Road side crashed to a two-goal defeat at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, the night after Leeds fans Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed to death in Istanbul.

It was such a difficult time that you really, sometimes, don't know which way to go

Kevin Keegan, England manager

Keegan backed the opinion of some critics that to continue with the match was not in the best interests of football.

"I don't think the game should have been played, because I don't think players can go out and play and frankly Leeds didn't play," he said.

Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale had decided to proceed with the tie despite objections from supporters of the West Yorkshire club.

Keegan: Sympathised with Ridsdale

But Keegan did not condemn Ridsdale's decision to go ahead with Thursday's match.

"It was such a difficult time that you really, sometimes, don't know which way to go," he said.

"You can make arguments all the way along, but nobody is going to come up with something satisfactory to everyone."

Earlier, Ridsdale admitted that he was unable to force Galatasaray into an official minute's silence following the deaths of two English fans on Wednesday.

Leeds United were the only team that wore black armbands. That's the only thing I could control

Peter Ridsdale, Leeds chairman

The Turkish club decided not to go ahead with any official ceremony. The Leeds players wore black armbands, but Galatasaray's stars did not.

The Istanbul club said the decision was made by the governing body Uefa.

"Leeds United were the only team that wore black armbands. That's the only thing I could control," said Ridsdale.

"I don't want to talk about why the Galatasaray players didn't wear them or why there was no minute's silence."

Leeds players wore black armbands

He refused to discuss the matter any further, while manager David O'Leary confined himself entirely to commenting on the match itself.

The several hundred Leeds fans who watched Thursday's match performed their own ceremony at the start of the match, turning their backs away from the pitch and holding their arms aloft.

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim said there had been a meeting between the Uefa match delegate and the club prior to the match.

"We felt that if we had the silence and wore the armbands then it would only highlight the tension and increase the problematic atmosphere," he said.

Leeds fans during the match

"Therefore we decided to pass this one by. Although Galatasaray did bring this to the table, Uefa decided not to go ahead."

Terim also expressed his shock about Wednesday's tragic events.

"As a Turk, I am deeply sorry and very unhappy over what happened," he said.

"We obviously wish that those two fans had not been killed. I would rather have lost this game than have lost those two people."

But Keegan said that despite the deaths, Turkish fans should not be prevented from travelling to Elland Road for the home leg of the tie.

"Football is about two teams playing and it's about enjoyment," he told Talksport.