Security so tight that helicopters shadowed team bus

The murders of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight on the eve of United's first European semi-final in 25 years had left everyone connected with the Elland Road club stunned.

What had begun as the latest adventure on a magical mystery tour had suddenly turned into a nightmare. The notorious reputation of the Galatasaray fans meant trouble had always been a possibility but the lack of the 'Welcome to Hell' reception committee that had greeted Manchester United seven years earlier raised hopes the trip might pass off peacefully.

By 10pm local time, however, such notions had been shattered in the most horrific of circumstances as a club and a city were plunged into mourning.

Back in Leeds, amid concern for those fans in Istanbul, debate raged as to what should happen next with the consensus of opinion being that the game should not take place.

UEFA had other ideas, though, as Leeds were presented with three options – either play the tie, rearrange for a later date or refuse to play and effectively withdraw from the competition.

Eddie Gray, David O'Leary's assistant at the time, recalls: "We were in the hotel and cocooned from what was happening. You are just told what is happening and that included whether the game was on or not.

"All we could do was try and focus on playing the game. It was either that or having to go back there at a later date, which no-one wanted for obvious reasons."

Even though the arrivals hall at Ataturk Airport had not been turned into the cacophony of noise and aggression that had met Manchester United in 1993, security had still been tight.

However, following the death of the two Leeds supporters, the protection surrounding the squad was cranked up even further with armed police and helicopters shadowing the team bus.

Inside the stadium players emerged from the tunnel to find a bank of officers to their right holding riot shields in the air – something that initially confused Gray.

"When I came out of the tunnel before kick-off, I remember thinking 'why are the riot police here?' And then the bricks and missiles started hitting the shields," he said. "I had never experienced anything like that before. I played in games with fierce atmospheres, a game in Naples being the one that stands out from my career. But I had never witnessed anything as intense as Galatasaray.

"There was a photograph in a newspaper showing Harry Kewell and me coming out of the tunnel with these shields above us. It is amazing he is playing there now."

The game was won 2-0 by Galatasaray amid a poisonous atmosphere that saw several home fans mime cut-throat gestures at their English visitors.

After the game, the team were whisked back to the airport and their coach drove straight on to the tarmac for a waiting plane.

"We were just glad to go home," admits Gray, who now covers Leeds for Yorkshire Radio. "It is amazing to think it was 10 years ago. It is something no-one will ever forget and it was a horrible couple of days, especially for the families concerned."