Inside the UK’s fiercest derby: The Old Firm | OneFootball

This Sunday, May 10th 2026, Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic will contest the sixth Old Firm Derby of the season. Whilst Rangers’ title hopes are over following their loss to Hearts last time out, they will be hoping to play their part in stopping their bitter rivals from going on to lift the trophy. But first of all, let’s learn about the history of this fierce rivalry.

Rooted In Religion

This rivalry is deeper than just sport and geography; it is primarily rooted in religious and political differences between the two. Green and blue, Catholic and Protestant, Republican and Unionist—the two sides couldn’t be more opposite.

For years, Rangers refused to knowingly sign players of the Catholic faith. This was until Graeme Souness changed it by signing former Celtic forward Mo Johnston in July 1989.

The political aspect of the feud developed strongly in the early 20th century, with perhaps the most significant development occurring in 1912 when Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff (a company that already had anti-Catholic hiring practices) set up a new yard in Govan, Glasgow, due to instability in Ireland.

Hundreds of Ulster Protestant workers, many of Scottish descent, also made the move and adopted Rangers, the closest and largest club to the Govan yard, as their new team. Due to other events, such as the First World War and the Easter Rising, the club came to represent the Scottish Establishment and British Unionism in the face of the Irish Catholic uprising personified by Celtic’s success. As a result, many people in Scotland and Northern Ireland began supporting Rangers or Celtic instead of their local teams in accordance with their own political and religious views and beliefs.

Later down the line, in 2005, both Celtic and Rangers joined a project to tackle bigotry and sectarianism in sport, but there was little change in the behaviour and subsequent prosecution of the fans. While the majority of Rangers and Celtic fans do not involve themselves in sectarianism, serious incidents do occur and tend to dominate headlines surrounding the fanbases of both clubs.

The most well-known incident of disorder between fans occurred 27 years ago, on a Sunday evening in May 1999 at Celtic Park, with the usual tensions heightened by the fact that a win for Rangers would see them secure the league title at the home of their biggest foes.

Celtic supporters were the centre of attention at points throughout the game, throwing a number of objects from the stands, one of which struck referee Hugh Dallas, forcing the game to stop while he received medical attention. Many fans in attendance had also spent a full weekend drinking alcohol prior to the event, with at least four Celtic fans invading the pitch to confront Dallas throughout the match.

Additionally, more missiles were thrown at players on the pitch after the game. Since the events of that day, Old Firm league matches have normally been played in the early afternoon, and the possibility of an Old Firm title decider has been deliberately avoided. When interviewed, supporters of both clubs have been known to state that they often don’t enjoy Derby Day until the final whistle is blown, due to the tense nature that comes with it.

2012 And Rangers’ Banishment

In February 2012, Rangers suffered a financial collapse that led to the liquidation of the club. This came about after they were forced into administration following years of financial mismanagement and a tax evasion investigation by the British Authorities. This investigation showed that the club owed £100 million in total debts, including £79 million in unpaid tax and £9 million due to HMRC. HMRC also voted against a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), meaning that Rangers would be forced to liquidate and subsequently reform in a new company structure.

Rangers then faced, and lost, a vote from the other 11 Scottish Premiership clubs as to whether or not they would be allowed back into the top flight straight away. It was revealed on July 4th 2012, that Rangers had lost the vote 10-1, with the old company of Rangers being the only side to vote in favour of a Premiership return.

This led to a proposal of an automatic Scottish Football League entry by SFL and SFA executives, meaning Rangers were able to rejoin the Scottish pyramid from the fourth tier and would have to work their way back up to the top division. A 12-month transfer embargo was also placed on the club, but this did not stop their progression back to the top flight, as Rangers won three promotions in four years to complete their journey back to the Scottish Premiership.

Many Celtic fans claim the Old Firm died when Rangers liquidated in 2012 and instead refer to it as the Glasgow Derby. They also often refer to Rangers fans as “Zombies” or “the undead.” However, it should be mentioned that Rangers are considered a continuation of the same club by the SPFL’s Chief Executive Officer, Neil Doncaster, as he confirmed in 2015, three years after the financial collapse.

Problematic Away Allocations

During the summer of 2018, Rangers announced they would be slashing Celtic’s Derby Day allocation at Ibrox from 7,000 tickets, the entire Broomloan Stand, to just 800. Fans would be situated in a corner, usually used for smaller numbers of travelling supporters. This was decided following a fan survey backing the proposal as well as an upturn in season ticket sales. Celtic, of course, would retaliate by doing the same, bringing a long-standing tradition of the two clubs offering generous away allocations to an end.

Unfortunately, during the first Old Firm fixture at Celtic Park under the new arrangements, there was a crushing incident. In the minutes before kick-off, the main access road was closed as part of the amended segregation plan and thousands of spectators approaching Celtic Park from both directions were directed to the narrow enclosed walkway below the North Stand to reach the opposite side of the stadium, along with those trying to enter that stand via turnstiles.

The volume of people in the walkway area built up to the extent that many were unable to move forward with more approaching from either side, and crushing was experienced in the congested area for some minutes, causing panic, with several fans scaling a high perimeter wall and fence to escape; one of them fell from the wall and later required hospital treatment, while four other people were treated at the scene as the situation subsided. Those involved expressed their anger afterwards regarding the arrangements and the policing at the stadium on the day, with Celtic issuing an official apology to the fans.

There were also a number of seasons and derbies, where away fans were denied entry completely at both grounds. However, this came to an end in March 2025 when Rangers were allocated 2,200 tickets at Celtic Park in a game that saw the blue side of Glasgow run out 3-2 winners thanks to a late goal from Hamza Igamane, sending the pocket of Rangers fans into raptures.

Away fans have been at every derby since then, although this came under threat in recent weeks following fan violence problems at Ibrox in the most recent derby. Celtic were given the full Broomloan Stand, due to the game being in the Scottish Cup, and tensions in the stands spilt over at full-time when fans of both sides invaded the pitch to fight one another. As a result, Celtic have banned the Rangers ultras group, Union Bears, from attending this weekend’s clash at Celtic Park.

Sunday In Scotland

Having covered the history of the derby and major talking points between the two sides, it is now time to look ahead to this weekend’s clash. It will be the 452nd edition of this age-old clash, so far Rangers have won 172 matches, Celtic 171 and 108 have ended in a draw. As previously mentioned, Rangers are now out of the title race this season, currently sitting seven points behind league leaders Hearts, but Celtic remain very much in the fight ahead of their final three games. Rangers fans would take much delight in ending Martin O’Neill’s side’s hopes, I’m sure.

The Gers have won their last two visits to Celtic Park, scoring three on both occasions, and are unbeaten against Celtic in a league game since September 2024, when they lost 3-0. Daizen Maeda was on the scoresheet that day and has found his shooting boots again as of late. Hoops legend Callum McGregor also found the net, and will almost certainly make his 573rd appearance for the club on Sunday.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 12pm (UK time) and will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event, so why not sit back, relax and enjoy the UK’s greatest derby alongside your Sunday roast?