Celtic’s Mid-Eighties Watershed – Celtic v Atletico Madrid, 1985

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·08 de dezembro de 2025

Celtic’s Mid-Eighties Watershed – Celtic v Atletico Madrid, 1985

After the events at Old Trafford in December 1984, the consensus was that Celtic would be banned from all European competitions. The only real question being discussed was the possible length of such a ban…

Rapid Vienna were 3-0 down and heading out of Cup Winners Cup when a bottle was thrown from the Jungle. It didn’t hit the cheat but he pretended it did. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Most observers reckoned Celtic could expect two years, with anything less being regarded as charitable. This was based on the reasoning that Celtic had twice failed to control the behaviour of their support- first at Celtic Park with the bottle throwing incident, and then at Old Trafford when two Rapid players had been viciously assaulted on the pitch

Vídeos OneFootball

Celtic had to wait FIVE WEEKS for UEFA’s judgement. Incredibly, the punishment surprised everyone. Celtic were fined £17 000 and forced to play their next home European tie behind closed doors. Why were UEFA so comparatively lenient?

Tom Campbell and Pat Woods, co-authors of The Glory and The Dream. Photo The Celtic Star

The Glory and the Dream

In The Glory and the Dream, Tom Campbell and Pat Woods argue that there existed within UEFA a reservoir of official goodwill towards Celtic. They also suggest, however, that UEFA may have made a “belated recognition that their own mishandling of the affair had contributed heavily to the ultimate debacle at Manchester”.

One match behind closed doors was bad enough, meaning a substantial loss of potential gate receipts and playing without the backing of a large, passionate support. The situation was compounded when Celtic were drawn against old foes Atletico Madrid in the First Round of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1985. Defeating the Spanish Cup holders would have been difficult enough in front of a packed Celtic Park. It would be even more challenging to do so in front of an empty stadium.

Continued on the next page…

Celtic and Atletico Madrid teams come out for the European Cup semi-final first leg at Celtic Park on 10 April 1974. Photo The Celtic Wiki

There was also a bitter irony in being drawn against Atletico, the club which many Celtic fans felt had cheated them out of a European Cup Final in 1974. If Rapid had been the arch-villains in 1984, Atletico had filled that role a decade previously. Unlike Rapid Vienna, there had been nothing subtle, cunning or devious about the Spanish side’s approach in Glasgow. Atletico were openly brutal, kicking and hacking Celtic’s players throughout the entire match. Eleven years later, before the first leg in Madrid, Atletico officials were quick to say they wanted to forget the ‘shame game’ of 1974.

Celtic urged fans not to travel to Madrid

In September 1985, Celtic urged fans not to travel to Madrid. Apart from fear that they might cause trouble again, there was also a worry that English hooligans – whose clubs had just been banned from Europe – might latch on to following Scottish clubs as an outlet for their violent impulses. Atletico estimated that around 70 Celtic fans attended but most media sources reckoned it was nearer 200. Few – if any – of that number had travelled from Scotland. (If anyone reading this was at the match please get in touch).

Atletico started the game very well and attacked throughout the first half. Celtic were disciplined but they eventually went behind after 35 minutes. In the second half, the Spaniards sat back and began to look vulnerable to Celtic’s attacks.

After 69 minutes, Mo Johnston scored a crucial away goal with a wonderful header from a Davie Provan cross. Stung into a response, Atletico won a penalty in 76 minutes after a reckless tackle by Paul McGugan, but Rubio saw his attempt saved superbly by Pat Bonner. Celtic finished the match looking the stronger, more threatening side.

Celtic competed bravely to obtain an excellent result

Overall, Atletico had been the better side on the night but Celtic had competed bravely to obtain an excellent result. The away goal now put Celtic in the driving seat. In normal circumstances, in front of a packed and passionate Celtic Park, Celtic would have been expected to finish off the job and progress to the next round.

However, the return leg would be played behind closed doors, a fact not lost on manager Davie Hay: “It will be a very difficult match at Parkhead because we don’t know how our players will react to a silent stadium.”

The entire crowd at Celtic v Atletico Madrid, Behind Closed Doors match in September 1985.

Hay found out soon enough. On 2 October 1985, the second leg took place in front of a deserted Celtic Park. Only 170 people were allowed inside the stadium, almost all of whom were players and officials of both clubs, with a small group from the Press. Several adjectives were used to describe the atmosphere, the most common being eerie, unreal, ghostly, haunting and bizarre. The strange kick off time of 2 pm simply added further to the general sense of weirdness and abnormality.

Continued on the next page…

The pre-match formalities. Celtic v Atletico Madrid, Behind Closed Doors match in September 1985.

Celtic players were badly affected by the surreal, near-dead atmosphere

Unsurprisingly, the Celtic players were badly affected by the surreal, near-dead atmosphere and produced their worst performance in many months. Atletico took the lead in 38 minutes after what was almost an action replay of the goal scored by Rapid at Old Trafford. This time, Murdo MacLeod hit the bar from a yard out and from the rebound Atletico darted swiftly upfield and scored through Setien.

The Spaniards effectively killed the tie after 71 minutes, when Quique ran half the length of the pitch and drove a fierce left foot shot past Bonner. Atletico were now two goals ahead on aggregate and had also scored a second away goal, meaning Celtic now needed to score THREE times to win the tie.

Celtic v Atletico Madrid, Behind Closed Doors match in September 1985.

Two minutes later, Roy Aitken pulled one back for Celtic but it was too little, too late. In truth, never at any point did Celtic look capable of producing the level of performance needed to win the second leg.

Davie Hay’s fears about how the players would react to an empty stadium had proven to be well-founded. “The players were badly affected by the flat atmosphere. It shows how much our supporters mean to the club. We just did not play at all”, he said after the match.

Thirty-five years later, the same phenomenon would again be witnessed during the long, slow car-crash of the pandemic season in 2020/21, when it could be argued that Celtic suffered more than any other club without the presence of their support in the stadium.

Celtic v Atletico Madrid, Behind Closed Doors match in September 1985.

Celtic were yet again out of Europe at the first attempt

Celtic were yet again out of Europe at the first attempt, and once more after giving themselves a strong chance of qualifying after the first leg. They had not played in Europe after Christmas since 1980 and, incredibly, would not do so again until 2003 under Martin O’Neill. To rub salt in the wound, Atletico would go all the way to the Final in May 1986, only to lose by three goals to Dynamo Kiev.

Continued on the next page…

Celtic v Atletico Madrid, Behind Closed Doors match in September 1985.

The Rapid Vienna saga had resulted in a catastrophic double-punishment for Celtic. In footballing terms, the Rapid affair had severely damaged TWO seasons of European competition for Celtic.

It eliminated Celtic at the Second-Round stage in 1984 and had arguably a decisive impact on the Atletico result in 1985. The Celtic players had been robbed of the chance to develop European experience in both seasons. In financial terms, Celtic lost around £250,000 from EACH of two home European ties- the potential revenues from a quarter final tie in March 1985 and then from the empty stadium in October 1985. In total Celtic suffered the loss of a MINIMUM of £500 000.

Rapid Vienna fiasco…exerted a profound effect on the club

The short-term impacts were clear at the time. The longer-term consequences would only be revealed during the remainder of the decade and beyond. “The Rapid Vienna fiasco…exerted a profound effect on the club,” argues Graham McColl in Celtic in Europe. The early exits in 1984 and 1985 deprived the players of the chance to build experience in Europe, precipitating a downward spiral which meant that “Celtic were less and less prepared for Europe with every passing year.” Results in the second half of the Eighties support McColl’s case.

In this sense, the Atletico Madrid tie can be viewed as something of a watershed for Celtic’s performances in Europe. In the early Eighties, Celtic had come agonisingly close against sides who went on to reach the European Cup semi-finals (Real Madrid and Real Sociedad), Cup Winners’ Cup finals (Rapid Vienna and Atletico Madrid) and the UEFA Cup semi-final (Nottingham Forest). After the loss to Atletico Madrid in 1985, Celtic suffered successive early exits to Dynamo Kiev, Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and Partizan Belgrade. NONE of the latter sides reached the final of the competition, with only Dynamo Kiev reaching a semi.

From October 1985, Celtic could no longer compete against Europe’s best

Quite frankly, from October 1985, Celtic could no longer compete against Europe’s best. During the remainder of the Eighties, Celtic fans would suffer a series of successive letdowns. Before considering these “Late Eighties Letdowns”, the next article will review the main reasons why Celtic’s story in European football from 1980-85 was one of unfulfilled potential.

James McDevitt

THE IDEAL CELTIC CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR CELTIC DADS

Order your copy of Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, which will be personally signed by Danny McGrain! Plus we’ll send you a FREE copy of Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style – Click on image to order!