Turk surrenders to police over Leeds fan deaths

A man wanted by police for allegedly providing Turkish youths with knives used in the stabbing deaths of two British football fans turned himself into authorities.

Yilmaz Tutas walked into a police station in Istanbul where he is being questioned about the killings of Leeds United fans Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight.

Tutas denied any involvement in the fighting in downtown Istanbul on the eve of a UEFA cup semi-final game between Leeds United and the Turkish club Galatasaray, private news channel NTV reported.

A prosecutor has charged four youths with the killings and has called for two maximum 30-year prison terms to run consecutively. He is also seeking jail terms of two to five years for four others implicated in the slayings.

UEFA, European soccer's governing body, banned Galatasaray fans from attending the second leg game in Leeds.

Galatasaray advanced to the finals on a 4-2 aggregate and will face another British team, Arsenal, in the finals on May 17 in Copenhagen, Denmark.