It’s safe to say that when Manchester United take on Galatasaray in the Champions League under Erik ten Hag, things will not get as tasty as they did nearly 30 years ago.
In November 1993, Sir Alex Ferguson‘s Manchester United side made the trip to Istanbul for a Round of 16 match that will go down as probably the most intimidating, chaotic atmosphere the competition has ever seen.
Ferguson vowed to ‘never return‘ and even notorious hardman Roy Keane suggested that he felt a little more than intimidated on the night.
So, just what happened in the Manchester United vs Galatasaray 1993 clash dubbed ‘Welcome to Hell?’
Why was it called Welcome to Hell?
The chaos began even before matchday. United were greeted by hundreds of Turks as soon as they landed in Istanbul.
They turned up to greet the Red Devils with banners plastered with the phrase ‘Welcome to Hell’. This certainly foreshadowed what was to come for United.
The hostile atmosphere didn’t stop at the airport. Fergie’s side were harassed during their travels at their hotel, on coaches and in the streets of Istanbul – but it was in the intimidating cauldron of the Ali Sami Yen stadium where things would take a darker turn.
What happened when Manchester United faced Galatasaray in ‘Welcome to Hell’ fixture
Almost every United player said they’d never played in such a hostile and loud atmosphere as that of Manchester United vs Galatasaray in 1993.
The cramped Ali Sam Yemi stadium was probably packed over its 25,000 capacity. It was filled with rowdy fans, all wielding flares, banging on advertising boards and generally creating one of the most hostile environments the beautiful game has ever seen.
The game was actually rather uneventful. A 0-0 ensued, which followed a 3-3 at Old Trafford meaning the Turkish side progressed on away goals.
Immediately at full-time, all hell broke loose. Fans stormed the pitch, policemen swarmed the Red Devils players and the dark, daunting surroundings became even more nightmarish.
Eric Cantona was allegedly bludgeoned by a Turkish police officer and legendary skipper Bryan Robson was hit by a shield – which resulted in stitches. This genuinely may have been the first-ever football game with more injuries after the full-time whistle.
It wasn’t for the faint of heart. Manchester United’s side were warriors under Ferguson – but even some of the most prominent figures in the club’s history were left more than a little shaken by the experience.
Bryan Robson on ‘Welcome to Hell’
The skipper on the day was Robson – who recalled his daunting experience on the day via an interview with the club’s official site.
“I knew what Galatasaray was all about because of the fans chant – which the Turkish fans seem to do – this jumping-up-and-down chant,” said Robbo.
“When there’s only a few thousand it’s nowhere near to what the effect is when you go to Istanbul. Outside the hotel, they were chanting and just trying to keep the players up all night and disrupt our rest.
“So it started off from there. From the hotel, we get on the coach and mud and flags and everything is thrown at the coach, trying to upset the lads and put them off, but that team was strong mentality-wise.
“Then, once we got to the stadium, we go inside and get prepared for the game and come out for the warm-up.
“We did actually mention the ‘Welcome to Hell’ thing. You stand there going: ‘These lot are absolutely mad!’ It made an unbelievable atmosphere within the place.
Bryan Robson on Eric Cantona
Robson also told the story of just what happened to Eric Cantona after the full-time whistle.
“Once the final whistle had gone, the first thing I noticed was Eric. He was more or less the player on the ball when the whistle went,” recalled Robson.
“Eric got the ball and booted it away because he was in a temper. I could see it in his eyes: Eric was going to do something daft.
That’s why I ran to him. But before I actually got to Eric, this policeman or army guy got hold of Eric’s arm – not aggressively, just walking with him. I thought I’d get on the other side of Eric and we went across [towards the tunnel].
“I knew the other lads would be calm enough to get back to the dressing room but, as soon as we got to the top of the steps, this supposed police or army guy punched Eric on the back of the head.
Bryan Robson on injury he picked up
“The police come in and hit us with shields to push us down the steps. By that time, the rest of the boys had got to the top of the steps.
“When I got hit by a shield, I fell against the wall and split my arm. I had to have eight stitches in my elbow. So there were a lot of inquiries by UEFA into how things had happened when the game had finished. But, yeah, I mean they were really aggressive to all our players right at the end of the game.
“The police were a big part of it; they more or less joined in. I’d been to Istanbul when England played Turkey and if you get beat, it gets even worse.”
Roy Keane on ‘Welcome to Hell’
You know a fixture is bad when even Roy Keane was a little intimidated.
The Irish midfielder recalled in the book, King Eric: Portrait of the Artist, just how ridiculous this game was. He also shed some more light on the Cantona situation. “In the dressing room Eric went crazy,” Keane said.
“While the rest of us just wanted to get out of there, he was determined to go back outside to sort out the rogue cop who’d been wielding his truncheon.
“Eric was a big, strong lad. He was serious. He insisted he was going to kill ‘that f****r’. It took the combined efforts of the manager, Brian Kidd, and a few of the players to restrain him.
“Normally I wouldn’t have backed off a fight, but even I wasn’t up for this one. There were a lot of Turks out there!”
Eric Cantona on ‘Welcome to Hell’
The man himself, Cantona, also commented in an interview with Joe on his thoughts on the police attack.
“He killed me from behind, not kill me, but he beat me from behind and disappeared,” Cantona stated. “And I’m sure that the images from the video are somewhere, but they lost everything. Convenient.
“If it was someone else other than the policeman, then maybe I would have reacted differently. But a policeman?! He disappeared, disappeared like a weak man.”
Erik ten Hag‘s side will be in for a tough test – but the scenes will certainly not surpass the devilish ones on that fateful night in 1993.
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