Jesse Marsch and Leeds United squad remember Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight at Elland Road

Marsch, the first team squad and Elland Road staff members gathered with friends, family members and fellow Whites who are still carrying the pain of the tragedy.

Wreaths were laid by club captain Liam Cooper and a number of his team-mates in front of the memorial plaque outside the East Stand and Gareth Senior, one of those present on that night in Istanbul, gave a speech on the importance of remembering not only Chris and Kevin but the truth of what happened to them.

Both men were stabbed to death the night before Leeds' April 5 2000 UEFA Cup tie against Galatasaray, a game that still went ahead despite the raw trauma felt by the club and its supporters in Turkey. Leeds fans turned their backs to the opposition at Ali Sam Yen Stadium in a gesture that was repeated by more than 30,000 at Elland Road in the 22nd minute of Saturday's Premier League clash with Southampton.

Speaking after Monday's get together, as players mingled with family members and well wishers, Gareth said there was still widespread misinformation over the killings, which flies in the face of what he and others know to be the truth.

"Nothing we were accused of ever happened, it was just a group of 20,30 innocent lads in a city we had gone to explore the night before the game," he said.

"If you were to Google the events of that night you would be told a pack of lies, there's so much misinformation out there, I feel as though it's part of my mission in my life to inform people. We were attacked by cowards carrying knives, machetes, lumps of metal, anything they could arm themselves with against a group of defenceless men who weren't there to cause any trouble whatsoever.

"Two people lost their lives, there was certainly more than one person involved in that. We will never forget [Chris and Kev]."