Leeds United man sends message to grieving families as Elland Road prepares for emotional day — YEP 29/3/25
By Graham Smyth
Leeds United defender Joe Rodon has sent a message from the
squad to the grieving families of Christopher Loftus and Kev Speight as the
club marks 25 years since their murders.
Saturday's game at Elland Road against Swansea City will be
dedicated to the memory of the pair, who tragically lost their lives in
Istanbul on April 5 2000. Both families will be represented in the ground,
there will be a tribute before the game and Leeds fans will turn their backs on
the play in the 25th minute as has become an annual tradition.
Rodon says Chris, Kev and their loved ones will be in his
and his team-mates' thoughts as they prepare to take on the Swans. He said:
Today as a squad we will remember Chris and Kev. Our fanbase is special and the
tragedy of what happened 25 years ago is in all our thoughts today. I want to
send my best wishes from all the squad to the family and friends, we will give
everything today like always, to do you all proud. We will never forget."
Another annual tradition for the Leeds squad is to lay
flowers at the plaque commemorating the lives of the two who travelled to
support their club in European action in Turkey and did not come home.
Investing in the bond between the squad and the supporters is a big part of
playing for Leeds United according to the Welshman, who will come up against
his former club at Elland Road.
"It's important to us all in the squad," he said.
"You have always got to give back to the community, the fans and everyone
involved with the club. You look at the support this club has and everything
around it is massive, so it's important that we give back to the community and
of course get involved and make everyone feel a part of it."
Wreaths will be laid at the side of each dugout on Saturday
by the captains of Leeds and Swansea, while club chairman Paraag Marathe will
also place a commemorative wreath at the plaque outside the East Stand.
Two days ahead of the anniversary on April 3, Leeds players
and staff will congregate at Elland Road outside the plaque to pay their
respects and a day later on the evening of Friday, April 4, the Loftus and
Speight families and friends will host an event at Elland Road in honour of
their loved ones, raising money for charitable organisation, The Candlelighters
Trust.
Gareth Senior is one of the organisers of the event and has
taken on a spokesperson role for the families when it comes to media duties
each year. He told the YEP that their desire was to bring some light from the
darkest of situations, for a good cause.
"The crux of it is, we want something really nice to
come out of a really bad situation," he said. "When we did it 15
years ago, when we were all a lot fitter and younger, we did a series of events
for the 10th anniversary, and that raised about £140,000 for Candlelighters.
They've got a garden and a play area in their premises in Leeds on the back of
last time. So it's just to keep that relationship going, keep Leeds as the centre
focus of something that we're doing, and it's just a nice thing to do.
"The families felt at the time it would be a worthwhile
cause. Everybody knows somebody within their family sphere that's been affected
by cancer. You hear about kids and teenagers suffering with this horrible
disease as well and I think that that hits even harder. I think that was one of
the reasons, as well, was that it's a local charity that relies upon donations.
They're 100 per cent self-funded. It's not like going to a national charity,
for example, and supporting them, which is of course brilliant, but I think
with it being Leeds-based it just felt right at the time."