The unbeaten story of Celtic at home at Ibrox

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The Celtic Star

·1 March 2026

The unbeaten story of Celtic at home at Ibrox

Today the Bhoys head to Ibrox for a crucial Scottish Premiership match and then return next Sunday for an equally important Scottish Cup fixture. Here’s a story of Celtic playing Rangers as the home team at Ibrox…

Mounted police officers watch Celtic fans near Ibrox stadium. theRangers v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Ibrox, 11 March 2018. Photo by Stuart Wallace Shutterstock/IMAGO

Of all the venues that you would expect Celtic to face a warm welcome, Ibrox would not be one that most people would name. And yet on more than one occasion, Celtic have actually played there as the official home team.

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This is the story of Celtic’s experiences as the ‘home’ team at Ibrox Park…

Glasgow Derby Special – Images The Celtic Star

The first time this happened was in the midst of global conflict. September 1939 saw the start of the Second World War. This had a significant impact on Scottish football as national competitions were suspended and limits placed on crowd sizes.

In January 1940, Celtic were due to host Rangers in a Western League fixture. However, the decision was taken to relax some of the attendance rules. As Celtic Park was smaller than Ibrox, this meant that fewer fans would be able to attend a game in Glasgow’s east end.

Celtic thus reached a deal with Rangers to switch the game to Ibrox. This would allow more fans to watch the match, and also ensure more money was raised at the turnstiles.

Thus, on New Year’s Day 1940, Celtic welcomed Rangers to the Bhoys’ temporary home of Ibrox! 40,000 supporters were drawn to Glasgow’s southside for this unusual event. Given the very foggy weather for the match, this was an impressive figure. However, as an indication of the effect of the war on attendances, a year previous there had actually been almost 120,000 fans at this same fixture.

The situation of Celtic as Ibrox hosts did nothing to inspire the Bhoys in the way that they started the game. The first half mainly saw Rangers enjoy the bulk of possession and chances, although as half-time approached, no-one had managed to break the deadlock.

Just as the Bhoys hoped to have the chance to regroup at half-time, it was the so-called ‘away’ men that had cause to cheer. Following a Celtic attack, a long ball changed the scene of play and gave Willie Waddell the chance to put the Light Blues in front.

An Honest Mistake

In the second half, Celtic did press for an equaliser. Arguably the biggest chance in the second half came when the Bhoys should have had a penalty; John Gould was fouled in the Rangers box but to the surprise of most people in the ground, a goal kick was instead awarded.

Celtic in the Thirties. Malcolm MacDonald pictured with the Empire Exhibition Trophy. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Despite many chances for the Celts – and the odd response from Rangers – there were no further goals added to the scoreline. That is, until five minutes remained on the clock. A Celtic attack allowed Malcolm MacDonald to knock home the equaliser, which helped the Bhoys take a point in their Ibrox ‘home’ game.

As an aside, the notion of Celtic being the home team at Ibrox was unusual. The Edinburgh derby played on the same day was equally strange. Hearts and Hibs both shared a remarkable 11 goals, with Hearts claiming a 6-5 victory at Easter Road.

As much as playing at Ibrox was a strange experience, the biggest change for Celtic on this day came in terms of the club’s manager.

Willie Maley. Image via The Celtic Wiki

Willie Maley – who had played in Celtic’s first game in 1888 and been official manager since 1897 – announced that he would depart the club. Within weeks, Celtic’s most successful manager in terms of trophies won had departed Celtic Park, replaced by Jimmy McStay who would see out the duration of the war.

Jimmy McStay from Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Image by Celtic Curio.

It is surprising that Celtic once played as the home team at Ibrox. So it must be shocking to discover that it has actually happened on more than one occasion.

The second time came in the 1970s, as a consequence of building work at Celtic Park. At the start of the 1971-72 season, the Bhoys were due to host Rangers in a League Cup game. This was fixed to take place at Parkhead, however ongoing building work made this an impossible situation. Hampden was also not an option due to redevelopment work there too.

The Main Stand at Celtic Park was redeveloped in 1971 using the 1929 steelwork which remains in place to this day.

There was then a standoff about what would happen. At first, Rangers insisted that the game be played at Celtic Park, which would have necessitated a ‘behind closed doors’ game owing to construction meaning it would not be safe for fans to attend.

Celtic then suggested that the game be played at Ibrox, but Rangers initially refused this approach. The two sides became embroiled in an argument over what would happen. At one point, Morton stepped in and suggested that the teams could travel to Greenock and play their fixture at Cappielow.

However, eventually this did not need to happen. The Ibrox side relented in their refusal to let Celtic play at Ibrox. As a result, it meant that the Bhoys went to Glasgow’s southside playing as the official home team and essential ‘hosting’ Rangers. In an even stranger situation, Celtic season tickets were able to be used at Ibrox.

There was a bumper crowd of almost 73,000 at the match, easily the biggest attendance in Britain on that day. The ones who went wearing green certainly enjoyed themselves, as did one young man in particular.

Celtic arguably had the best of the first half, although no goals were scored to highlight this advantage. The breakthrough moment would take until the 67th minute when Jimmy Johnstone edged the Bhoys in front following an assist from Bobby Lennox.

Kenny Dalglish, Celtic FC 1971

Any hope that the usual ‘home’ men had of a comeback was ended within three minutes. Another Celtic attack saw John Hughes being fouled, and Celtic gaining a penalty. Captain Billy McNeill handed the ball to a young striker playing in his first Celtic/Rangers game – Kenny Dalglish – and the youngster dispatched the ball to make it 2-0, which was also the final outcome.

The Celts were delighted to claim victory. What was even more remarkable was that this ended up being the first of three Celtic wins at Ibrox in less than a month.

In the days of the League Cup group stages, Celtic were back in Glasgow’s southside two weeks later, this time in the more familiar position of being the away team. The Bhoys won 3-0 in this match. Then two weeks later, Celtic claimed a 3-2 victory in an Ibrox League game, meaning the green-and-white men had won three times at their great rivals’ ground in only 29 days.

The Celtic and Ibrox relationship is a complex one. On the one hand, it’s a venue where the Bhoys have lost on multiple occasions, not only against Rangers but also other sides, including cup finals. However, it is also somewhere the Bhoys have enjoyed memorable moments, including title wins and cup triumphs.

Playing as the home team, Celtic have twice turned out at the Glasgow southside venue, and they have an undefeated record when doing so. Bearing this in mind, the next time Celtic are on a bad run, perhaps they should ask to switch their game to Rangers’ home venue.

The only problem would be that this time not all Celtic season ticket holders would be able to attend. Because in a world which sometimes thinks that ‘size is everything’, the Hoops fans wouldn’t be able to fit into a notably smaller venue.

Matthew Marr

If you want to learn more about Celtic history, follow Hail Hail History on Twitter/X. You can also take part in a FREE Celtic history walking tour. Visit celticwalkingtours.wordpress.com for more information.

Click on cover to order a hardback copy for only £10 plus P&P

Matthew’s debut Celtic book titled ‘The Bould Bhoys – Glory to their name’ was published by Celtic Star Books last year and is available to order HERE. This brilliant book is also available on Amazon Kindle for just £3.49 and includes all photo sections that appear in the hardback edition.

Matthew Marr with his debut Celtic book, Glory to their name, which tells the story of Celtic’s first ever title win. Photo The Celtic Star

Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books. Click to order BOTH volumes for just £20 plus P&P