'I was there when Graeme Souness planted Galatasaray flag – this is what happened after'

As Liverpool prepare to face Galatasarayin the Champions League, fans will be well aware of the intimidating atmosphere generated inside RAMS Park. One Reds icon who knows a thing or two about the passion in the Turkish League is Graeme Souness, who has managed both teams going face-to-face in Europe this week.

Souness has been involved in plenty of iconic moments through the years. But perhaps his most controversial came during the 1996 Turkish Cup final against Fenerbache, when his Galatasaray team prevailed 2-1 over two legs. Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce is known as one of the world's most heated derbies, coining the nickname of The Eternal Rivalry.

But Souness took things up a notch further almost 30 years ago as he infuriated Fenerbache'sfans by planting a huge flag in the centre of their pitch. The incident almost incited a riot as the players fled for the safety of the dressing rooms; Souness himself legged it down the tunnel flanked by police.

Premier League icon Brad Friedel was in goal that day for Galatasaray. He previously appeared on to retell the story, including a few lesser-known details on Souness's further involvement in the chaos.

Remembering the incident, which has gone down in football folklore, the American shotstopper said: "[He] goes over to the Galatasaray fans, he sees this enormous flag. I mean, it's like the size of the wall and he picks it up and it's one of those [big sticks] and he starts running.

"And this is back in the day, in Turkey anyways, where they had like the lime chalk lines that built up, so horrible, in the six yard box by the way. Like the ball would hit and [the chalk] would like go up into your face.

READ MORE: Liverpool fans warned of 'extremely' worrying safety conditions ahead of Galatasaray clash

READ MORE: Galatasaray get major Victor Osimhen boost ahead of Liverpool Champions League clash

"He tried to plant it one time and then the flag fell over, and he picks it back up and he like, with his foot, tries to create a hole, and he does. He picks it up, somebody comes over and he like [with his elbow] hits him away. And Deano [Saunders] and I sitting there, we're looking at him like, 'I'm not sure this is going to end well.'"

Friedel then recalled Souness getting involved in a physical altercation as the situation escalated.

He said: "And we're trying to lift the, get our medals and lift the Turkish Cup and we just heard the police had to come and bring all the shields out. And as we're running off the [field], we couldn't [celebrate], we got escorted off inside.

"Souness, he was in front of Dean and I. A guy climbed those, you know, the cages? He climbed one, jumped in front of him and Souness, bam. Oh my god, and bam again. He was so proud of himself. He's like looking around, he's like, 'I think I broke his jaw!' And he's out."

Friedel added: "So we go into the changing room. We're in the changing room for three hours, not one word of an exaggeration. So we got the, they were surrounding our coach, they wouldn't let it out. They knocked out some windows in it with beer bottles and stuff like that.

"So we finally, after three hours, we get onto the coach and as we're pulling away, we have the curtains drawn on the coach, but some of the windows are out. And there's Souness, putting his hands [gestures with two fingers] out the window."

Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.