Celtic and the Ibrox Disaster – Remembering the victims from 2 January 1971

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The Celtic Star

·2 Januari 2026

Celtic and the Ibrox Disaster – Remembering the victims from 2 January 1971

Tomorrow, 3 January 2026, Celtic take on theRangers at Celtic Park in the Glasgow Derby. Today however many older Celtic supporters who were following the team in the early 1070s will recall with great sadness an Old Firm game at Ibrox on this day in 1971 when so many supporters went to a game of football but never came home. Matthew Marr tells the tragic story of the events at Ibrox on this day in 1971…

When it comes to football, exaggeration is never far away. Sometimes teams can face defeats and have this described using hyperbole such as tragedy or disaster.

However, in the early 1970s – 55 years ago today – these words were entirely apt in a sporting context. A Celtic journey to face Rangers ended up being remembered for the most terrible of reasons.

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This is the story of Celtic and the 1971 Ibrox Disaster

Ibrox Disaster 1902

These events at Ibrox were not the first time that this venue had been witness to a stark reminder of mortality. Ten years beforehand, two Rangers fans had died in a crush on Stairway 13 following an Old Firm game.

And in 1902, a stand collapse at the ground during a Scotland and England game had claimed 55 lives and injured more than 500 people too.

Away from Ibrox, there have been numerous other occasions when a trip to the football has ended up in the mortuary. This has been often to do with a lack of regard for fan safety, with clubs and other organisations caring little for the experience of their working-class supporters.

In recent memory in the UK, the most infamous of these is the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, but there have been numerous other incidents too, including two in 1985 alone: the Bradford City fire and the Heysel tragedy.

However, in Scotland at least, thoughts of footballing catastrophe inevitably dwell on 2nd January 1971.

Old Firm games at New Year were a firmly embedded part of the Scottish football calendar. Since the 1890s, Celtic and Rangers had faced off at the start of each new year, usually playing on the 1st or the 2nd of January.

As such, 1971 was to be no different. On that occasion, the Celts made their way to Glasgow’s southside. The Bhoys were well ahead of their Glasgow rivals but still trailed Aberdeen in the championship race.

Despite the Bhoys’ League advantage, victory over the Light Blues was far from assured. The last time had Celtic had managed to win a Scottish League game at New Year at Ibrox was 1921.

80,000 fans watched what proved to be an enthralling encounter, albeit one that for the most of the 90 minutes did not feature any goals. In the first half, both sides had prominent chances, with the two goalkeepers making some impressive saves.

The second 45 minutes went much the same way as the first, and neither set of fans had a goal to celebrate. The incoming fog was making limiting visibility and at one point it even potentially threatened to prematurely end the game.

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By the 89th minute, it seemed as though the match would end in stalemate, with each team still seeking their first goal of 1971. And then came an intense spell of footballing madness, one that would have terrible repercussions.

The ball fell to Celtic’s Bobby Lennox. From twenty yards, the ‘Buzzbomb’ fired a powerful shot that Gerhardt Neef in the home goal touched onto the bar. As it rebounded, Jimmy Johnstone was there to head home and surely give the Celts both points.

There was bedlam in the Celtic end and gloom for those fans wearing blue. In their thousands, they began to depart the stadium having had a very Unhappy New Year. But then things quickly and unexpectedly changed.

From kick-off, Rangers won a free-kick. The ball was thrown into the Celtic box and in a melee, a Derek Johnstone attempt somehow found its way to Colin Stein. The Ibrox forward knocked home the ball to change the direction of cheers in the ground.

Seconds later, the final whistle sounded. Those backing the Celts were disappointed at having thrown away the chance of victory whilst the Rangers fans celebrated their late equaliser. However, that was not the case in the entire ground.

Stairway 13 at Ibrox – the location where two Rangers fans were killed in a crush in 1961 – has since become synonymous with this Ibrox Disaster. On this day, the stairway was full of fans who left after seeing Jimmy Johnstone’s seemingly match-winning goal.

At some point, one of those supporters lost their footing and began to fall. This triggered a tragic chain reaction that saw others fall too, causing a huge crush as fans were piled on top of one another. So heavy was the weight of humanity that even crush barriers could not withstand the pressure. One policeman later said the scene was akin to “a battlefield.”

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Frantic efforts were made to save those caught up in the events. Ambulances from across Glasgow sped to Ibrox, and makeshift casualty stations were set up in the dressing rooms. There were even accounts of Celtic supporters’ buses helping take injured people to hospital.

The two clubs also played their part. In later times, the Rangers boss Willie Waddell said that the sight of Celtic trainer Benny Rooney trying to resuscitate dead fans by giving them the kiss of life was one that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Other Celtic officials such as Jock Stein and Neilly Mochan gave help and first aid to those injured in the events. Stein also later criticised some journalists that tried to ask him questions about the game itself, rather than events off-the-field.

As the wail of sirens dominated the Glasgow night, news of the tragedy slowly began to emerge. The vast majority of fans had left the ground unaware that anything untoward had occurred. Most assumed that the ambulances and police cars were simply intervening in a fan fight somewhere.

There was fear and worry for those at home who waited on their loved ones’ return. Many supporters went to the pub or elsewhere. In the days before social media and mobile phones, this meant their families fretted until contact was made – and this was true whether they had gone to the game wearing blue or green.

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One Herald journalist succinctly described the scene he witnessed following Scotland’s worst ever football disaster:

“Eventually at the top of the terrace the true horror became apparent. Half a dozen lifeless forms were lying on the ground. Rescuers were tripping over the dead and injured as they struggled back with more victims. “A wedge of emptiness had been created part of the way down the long steep flight of steps leading to the Copeland Road exit. In it were the twisted remains of the heavy steel division barriers. They had been mangled out of shape and pressed to the ground by the weight of the bodies.”

By the time the full picture became clear, the numbers told a grim tale. 66 Rangers supporters had lost their lives through asphyxiation and suffocation. Also, hundreds of fans had been injured in what was then the worst disaster in British football history.

Of the 66 that died, around half were teenagers. The youngest victim was a 9-year old boy from Liverpool and five boys from the Fife town of Markinch were also killed. The only female victim was Margaret Ferguson from Stirlingshire.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, attention turned to how best to support those affected. Celtic played an important role in these efforts.

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The Celtic View which was published in the days following the tragedy highlighted some actions that Celtic were taking. One such venture was joint fundraising campaigns involving the Celtic and Rangers Supporters’ Associations, including collections being taken in pubs and social clubs as well as at Celtic Park.

There were various events held to mark the sad events and offer community support to those affected. Church services took place, including at Glasgow Cathedral and at St Andrew’s Catholic Cathedral in Glasgow. These were attended by Celtic and Rangers players and officials, as well as representatives from other football teams.

Rangers v Celtic – Scottish Premiership – Ibrox Stadium Tributes are left outside the ground on the 50th anniversary of the Ibrox Disaster ahead of the Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow. Photo Andrew Milligan

The funerals were understandably poignant events, and on one single day there were 20 different services held. Rangers players and officials attended many of these events and in some cases, local Celtic Supporters’ Clubs were also represented to pay their respects.

Fundraising events were also held, in which Celtic played an important role. 25 days after the tragedy, a special game was held at a packed Hampden Park. This featured a Scotland XI against an Old Firm Select, with the Celtic and Rangers team being jointly controlled by the two sides’ managers, Jock Stein and Willie Waddell. However, this did not mean that the fans mixed and there remained two distinct ends at the game.

Both sides were supplemented with some prominent players from elsewhere in Britain, including Bobby Charlton and George Best. An entertaining clash ended 2-1 to the Scotland team, with all the goals coming from players who plied their trade south of the border. £45,000 was raised at the match for the disaster fund.

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Naturally after such awful events, the government and authorities promised action to try and prevent such an event being repeated. An inquiry was held to examine how the tragedy occurred. It eventually concluded that a fan falling likely caused the crush, despite rumours that it been the result of supporters turning back when the equaliser was scored.

The calamity led to changes which affected Rangers and wider football. Eventually, Ibrox underwent a huge redevelopment which made the ground one of the first in Britain to be all-seated. In addition, new safety requirements were introduced that covered all football stadia across Britain, such as having proper first-aid and ambulance facilities.

There were also legal battles following the disaster. The victims’ families took Rangers to court as they blamed them for the events, especially given that two fans had died on the same staircase just a decade before.

Compensation was paid, and Sheriff Irvine Smith was scathing of the Rangers board, placing much of the blame at their feet. He suggested that they had failed to fix the dangers on the basis that “if the problem was ignored long enough it would eventually go away.” He even suggested that there were attempts “to deceive others that they were doing something, when in fact they were doing nothing.”

Nottingham Forest v Celtic, 23/11/1983. Photo The Celtic Wiki

As later events proved, it was only luck that Celtic fans did not suffer the same fate as befell the Ibrox supporters. The treatment of all football supporters in that era gave often little thought to their dignity. At various Celtic games over the years, stories exist of fans facing crushes and other problems, including during a 1983 UEFA Cup game at Nottingham Forest. Also, one Celtic fan lost his life in 1957 at Clyde’s Shawfield ground when a wall collapsed.

One of the more squalid aspects of the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers is the unthinking hatred that can come from this. At times, some Celtic fans have disgraced themselves by mocking the tragic 1971 events. And many Rangers supporters do likewise with their attacks on Jock Stein, a man who put colours aside to help the injured and dead on that awful day.

The ability of the clubs to set aside rivalry when tragedy occurs has been shown in different ways. In 2001 – on the 30th anniversary of the disaster – Rangers unveiled a John Greig statue as a memorial to those that lost their lives. Celtic representatives attended this, including legendary captain Billy McNeill. Since then, numerous minute’s silences and other tributes have been held too.

It is perhaps best to conclude by turning to the words of Celtic’s ‘Big Man’ on this issue. Stein himself once saying: “This terrible tragedy must help to curb the bigotry and bitterness of Old Firm matches. When human life is at stake this kind of hatred seems sordid and little.”

Matthew Marr

Hail Hail History – follow on X.

To find out the full story of Celtic’s first League title, you can buy Matthew Marr’s debut book, ‘The Bould Bhoys! Glory to their name’. It’s available now from Celtic Star Books.

Follow Matthew on Twitter @hailhailhistory