VIOLENT soccer thugs could hijack England's international against Turkey to take revenge for the death of two murdered Leeds United fans.

Police are monitoring some of the UK's most violent gangs feared to be descending on Wearside for the European Championships qualifying match against Turkey in April, at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

They are using the murder of two Leeds supporters, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, by Turkish fans two years ago, as a red rag to recruit English extremists for the violent showdown with messages on websites.

Groups from Leeds, Tottenham and Hull say they are travelling to the North-East to take on about 4,000 Turkish supporters on April 2.

A police spokesman said: "Preparations are under way to organise policing for the match. Public safety is of paramount importance and officers will be gathering information from a number of sources to assist in the planning process.

"We are also working with foreign police forces and the football unit from the National Criminal Intelligence Service."

Football liaison officers monitor website message boards and say that while much is hot air, hooligans do recruit numbers for mass brawls with opposing thugs.

Mr Loftus and Mr Speight were stabbed during street clashes the night before Leeds played Turkey's Galatasaray in the Uefa Cup semi-finals, in April 2000.

Ali Umit Demir was found guilty of murdering both men and jailed for 15 years by a court in Istanbul.