England's qualification for Euro 2004 in Turkey was played in such a hostile environment travelling supporters were forbidden from making the trip to Istanbul for the October 2003 match.
Tensions between the countries on a footballing level had been simmering since the start of the century. Two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death when they travelled to Turkey for the club's Uefa Cup semi-final first leg away to Galatasaray. Having vanquished Leeds, Arsenal lay in wait for Gala in the Copenhagen final. This attracted not just the Gunners' own contingent, but supporters from other clubs' hooligan firms uniting to seek retribution against Turks in Denmark.
And then when Turkey travelled to Sunderland's Stadium of Light for the April 2003 Euro 2004 qualifier, England fans were waiting again, this time with the advantage of home soil. One Turkish supporters' bus had its door ripped off before it had ground to a halt, while goals from Darius Vassell and David Beckham prompted two delirious pitch invasions, with Turkish players goaded in the process.
ENGLAND 2-0 TURKEY, APRIL 2003
Domestic issues dogged England ahead of the crucial final qualifier six months later. Rio Ferdinand's exclusion from the national team's squad pending the outcome of his missed drugs test charge was received so badly by his international colleagues they threatened to strike.
Gary Neville, although not captain, lived up to his shop steward billing until Sir Alex Ferguson implored him not to go ahead with it, despite agreeing the Football Association's treatment of Ferdinand was deplorable.
So then the game started. It ended 0-0, which was enough for England to win the group, but the game was dominated by two flashpoints in the penalty area and in the tunnel.
Beckham's sky-high penalty miss was greeted euphorically by Aston Villa defender Alpay Özalan, who butted heads with the England captain. And when Pierluigi Collina's half-time whistle shrilled Alpay made a beeline for Beckham and poked him in the face. According to the then Real Madrid player, he "said something about my mother".
Alpay expresses his sympathies
Cameras caught a brawl kicking off in the tunnel as both teams showed more fight off the pitch than on it. The Sun gave 17-year-old Wayne Rooney an eight-out-of-ten match rating because he allegedly decked Alpay in the melee.
Emile Heskey could be seen lunging forward, with Sol Campbell joining in. Allegations after the match were made that certain Turks had racially abused Heskey.
The home side's goalkeeper Rustu, who appeared penitent when consoling Beckham after Alpay confronted him, was damning about his colleague's "stupid behaviour".
“We did no talking about tactics at half-time and about how we were going to beat the English. All we were doing was fighting and, once we got to the dressing room, talking about the fight," he said.