Turkish press blames British 'hooligans'

A Leeds United fan hurt after clashes in Istanbul

Turkey's newspapers blamed what they described as the British habit of hooliganism for the violence in Istanbul in which two Leeds United fans were fatally stabbed.

Under the headline "The Bloody History of British Hooligans", the Daily Star was unsurprised by the events in the city's Taksim Square.

"British teams and fans are better known as hooligans... They are the leading players in a bloody and eventful history.

"The Heysel disaster - another act by British fans who have the habit of inciting incidents at almost all of their matches - is still alive in people's memories."

"British Hooligans Again, Blood Again," said Hurriyet.

"British hooligans who create trouble wherever they go turned Taksim upside down last night," the paper said.

"A group of 15 to 20 extremely drunk hooligans provoked the youths at the scene and started a fight."

"Because of the bloody events they created, British teams were punished by Uefa with a five-year cup ban," Hurriyet said.

Fighting between rival fans in Istanbul

"Hooligan Horror," said Milliyet. "On the eve of the Galatasaray-Leeds United match, a hooligan horror swept Taksim.

"British hooligans incited incidents, Turks reacted."

Milliyet said British "fanatics" who were "over the limit" started the violence. But, "when passers-by reacted, Taksim was turned upside down".

In Britain, "the cradle of football", the paper continued, "hooligans attract attention before and after matches with their uncontrolled attitude.

"Invading the countries where their teams have games, these hooligans drink to excess, then insult the citizens of these countries. This may even go to the extreme of physical attacks."

The sports daily, Fanatik, called the match "a blood-stained semi-final".

"We were getting ready for a celebration, now we are dumbfounded," it said.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.