Man United ready for another 'Welcome to Hell' in crucial Champions League tie

It began with alarms going off at Manchester United’s team hotel, then the mischief phone calls to the players’ rooms. When loud knocking could be heard coming through the ceiling in the middle of the night, enough was enough.

‘Choccy (Brian McClair) and Jim McGregor, our physio, went upstairs and found a cleaner sitting there banging on the ceiling,’ recalls Gary Pallister. ‘He just looked at them and walked off. It’s crazy to think that this kind of stuff goes on.’

They say there are six dimensions of hell, and it felt like Sir Alex Ferguson and his players endured most of them on their first visit to Istanbul 30 years ago.

From the minute they had a menacing encounter with the Galatasaray fans at the airport to the moment they fought with riot police to get off the pitch at the febrile Ali Sami Yen Stadium, United ran a gauntlet of hate.

As they head back to Turkey and another crucial Champions League tie against Galatasaray here on Wednesday night, the chilling message that greeted United in November 1993 and has only grown in notoriety for three decades won’t be far from their thoughts: Welcome to Hell.

‘There were a lot of police at the airport but the fans were just all shouting, jeering and holding these placards saying that we’re going to die over there,’ says Mike Phelan. ‘It was an unusual welcome, put it that way.’

Pallister will never forget arriving at United’s sumptuous hotel on the banks of the Bosphorus. ‘It was a stunning place that used to be a former prince’s palace or something. Most of the lads were maybe 20 to 30 yards ahead of me and I was walking through by myself. I said good afternoon to this bell-boy and he just went like that (cut-throat gesture).

‘I think it’s fair to say we had quite a bit of intimidation.’

Phelan adds: ‘The hotel was top dollar, great service, then on the day of the game it seemed to change into “Get your own food”, look after yourself.

‘The evening before the match, there were a lot of alarms going off and phone calls being made to the rooms.’

United might not agree but Galatasaray’s star striker Hakan Sukur insists there was no malice. ‘Naturally, there was such a welcome at the airport with “Welcome to Hell” banners. But, of course, this is a metaphor,’ Sukur told Mail Sport.

‘I think that rather than intimidating opponents, the excitement at the airport and stadiums was about conveying the atmosphere. We knew we could be making history that is still talked about today.

‘I read that fans did things to keep the opponent from sleeping well and to make them tired for the match. These were isolated incidents and not planned. It is sad that our country is remembered for these and similar events.’

The old Ali Sami Yen was a cauldron befitting its nickname, The Hell. Phelan recalls it ‘bouncing’ hours before kick-off.

‘I’ve never seen an atmosphere quite like that,’ says Pallister, who was injured and sat in the stands with Mark Hughes.

‘The stadium was the loudest I’ve played in,’ adds Sukur. ‘There wasn’t a single person not participating in the chants, knowing when and what to do. I think Manchester United will see this in the return match on Wednesday.’

The game itself was goalless and largely forgettable, as United exited the second knockout round on away goals after drawing the first leg 3-3 at Old Trafford. It is remembered for the scenes at the final whistle after Eric Cantona was sent off for dissent. The Frenchman was escorted off the pitch by Bryan Robson and a riot policeman who then punched Cantona as he reached the steps down to the underground tunnel.

Cantona fought back and so did Robson after he was struck by a riot shield, cutting his elbow on a hook on the wall as he tried to punch a policeman.

Their team-mates piled in and Steve Bruce remembers Ferguson ripping off his jacket as he fought his way back to the dressing room. ‘Fergie comes barging through. His hair’s all over the place, his tie is under his ear.’

Bruce claimed he could have been killed by a brick that smashed a window of the team bus as United made their escape from the stadium. ‘We went back to the hotel with the window missing,’ Pallister says.

‘The hostility is something I never experienced in the rest of my career. You look at that and think it can’t get any worse.’