Here at Balls.ie we have decided to treat our readers by giving you serialised extracts of the hottest football autobiography of 2006. I am talking of course about Paul Parker's autobiography 'Paul Parker tackles like a ferret.' Here he talks about Manchester United's famous trip to Galatasaray in 1993.
'Welcome to the Hell' said the banner draped inside the stadium, and hell it was. Not that there seemed to be any problems when we first arrived in Istanbul. We stayed at a superb hotel near a bridge which links East and West, Europe and Asia and the waiters could not do enough for us or be more deferential. But from the moment we made clear to them we had no tickets to give them, the whole atmosphere changed dramatically. It was even worse when we got to the ground. The hostility and intimidation we encountered was genuinely frightening and I seriously wondered if we would escape with our lives. Police took away lighters, knives and other weapons as Galatasaray fans made their way to the stadium with mayhem on their minds... I was glad not to be a spectator because our supporters had bottles, rocks, cans, everything thrown at them and, trapped under a wire mesh roof, were spat at and urinated on by the locals... As the final whistle neared and with the score still 0-0, a frustrated and incensed Cantona pushed over a member of of the Galatasaray bench who was trying to prevent him getting the ball to take a throw in . It was typical of the whole miserable night and when the Swiss referee Kurt Rothlisberger called a halt to the game, we were almost pleased - even though it meant we had been eliminated.... Cantona was a Turkish target from the first to the last, and as he and Robson headed down the tunnel, they were attacked by the people they thought were thought were there to protect them, namely the baton wielding police. Cantona had his head pulled back and was punched and Robson had stitches in a hand wound after being struck by a riot shield. They were not alone. As I made my way through the belligerent throng I was struck by a stick, I think a policeman's baton, across my back and only the safe hands of Schmeichel prevented me from falling down eight or nine concrete steps. we had to count the players in the dressing room to make sure we had all survived... I am never going back.
The main thing we learned from this extract is that if any Turkish waiter comes over and asks you for All-Ireland tickets, give them to them. Parker left out that the most horrific incident of this whole episode happened a few days later when City fans pelted them with Turkish Delights
