7 August 1968 - Leeds Finally Get Their Day At The Fair

On 7 August 1968, Leeds United took a significant step toward securing their first major international trophy, beating Ferencváros 1-0 in the first leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final.

Leeds reached the semifinals in 1966 before getting eliminated by Zaragoza, then finished as runners-up to Dinamo Zagreb in 1967. On both occasions, the team that won the first leg went on to win the tie. Drawing on that experience, Leeds knew the importance of doing well when they hosted Ferencváros, who had won the competition in 1965. They had their work cut out for them, though, in defending Hungarian forward Flórián Albert, the 1967 Ballon d'Or winner.

But, playing before a crowd of 25,268 at Elland Road, the Leeds defense, anchored by the center-back pairing of Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter, kept Albert in check. The day's only goal was scored by Leeds forward Mick Jones, who found the net in the 41st minute.

It turned out to be the only goal of the final, as the two teams played to a scoreless draw in Hungary a month later.

15 February 1995 - The Lansdowne Road Riot

On 15 February 1995, a riot erupted at a friendly between Ireland and England in Dublin. A subsequent report laid the blame on English supporters and Irish authorities.

The supporters in question were members of Combat 18, an English neo-Nazi white supremacist group with a history of violence including football hooliganism.  They wasted little time in turning the friendly ugly, chanting "sieg heil" and giving Nazi salutes during the playing of the national anthems.

After a disallowed English goal, the away supporters in the higher stands ripped up benches and threw them down onto the home fans in the lower stands, prompting the referee to halt the game and send the teams off the pitch. Ireland manager Jack Charlton, a former English international, left to chants of "Judas."

The violence escalated, with rioting in the stands as the referee decided to cancel the remainder of the match. Most fans were evacuated, but those that remained clashed with police. A total of twenty people were injured.

Afterward, an inquiry found the English supporters, and Combat 18 in particular, responsible for the outbreak of violence. But the Irish authorities also shared some of the blame. They had been alerted before the match to the presence of Combat 18, but failed to take action (and even declined assistance offered by their English counterparts).