Ali Umit Demir and Suleyman Gokham Guven are on trial over the deaths of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight in Turkey last year.

Turkey's parliament last month approved an amnesty reducing sentences by ten years for many crimes committed before April 23, 1999.

Fuat Akkoyunlu, the lawyer for Demir, who is accused of murder, argued that crimes committed between April 1999 and December 2000, when the law was approved, should be included in the amnesty.

The clash between Turkish youths and Leeds United fans took place in April 2000.

Mr Akkoyunlu also applied for the sentences to be scrapped completely rather than reduced by 10 years. Demir faces up to 30 years in jail if convicted for the murders of both Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight on the eve of a UEFA cup semi-final between Leeds and Istanbul's Galatasaray.

Yusuf Koru, lawyer for Guven, who is charged with providing the knife used in both stabbings and faces a maximum 16 years in prison, also appealed for amnesty on the same grounds.

Istanbul's criminal court is to decide whether to forward the appeal to the constitutional court, Turkey's highest. If the constitutional court agrees to hear the appeal, the current trial of 19 Turks accused of taking part in the clashes will be delayed until the constitutional court reaches a verdict, which could take months.

Three suspects are charged with stabbing, and 15 others face lesser charges. The trial is to resume on February 26.