1971 Ibrox disaster

Last updated

Ibrox Disaster, 1971
The 1971 Ibrox Disaster Memorial (geograph 5756553).jpg
A memorial to those who died in the disaster, including a statue of then-captain John Greig, unveiled in January 2001
Date2 January 1971 (1971-01-02)
Location Ibrox Park, Glasgow, Scotland
Coordinates 55°51′13″N04°18′25″W / 55.85361°N 4.30694°W / 55.85361; -4.30694
Deaths66
Non-fatal injuries> 200

The 1971 Ibrox disaster, also known as the Second Ibrox Disaster, was a crush among the crowd at an Old Firm football game (Rangers v Celtic), which led to 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries. It happened on 2 January 1971 in an exit stairway at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the worst football disaster until the Bradford City stadium fire in Bradford, England, in 1985. This was followed by 97 deaths in the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, England, in 1989.

Contents

The stadium's owner, Rangers F.C., was later ruled to be at fault in a sheriff's judgement on one of the deaths. [1] Rangers did not dispute this ruling, and was sued for damages in 60 other cases brought by relatives of the dead. [2]

Background

The first disaster at Ibrox occurred during a 1902 home international match between Scotland and England. The back of the wooden West Tribune Stand collapsed due to heavy rainfall the previous night, causing 25 deaths and more than 500 injuries. [3]

Ibrox Park in 1910, with the Copland Road exit at the far corner of the stadium. An equivalent staircase can be seen descending the nearest corner. Second Ibrox Park 1910.jpg
Ibrox Park in 1910, with the Copland Road exit at the far corner of the stadium. An equivalent staircase can be seen descending the nearest corner.

During 1963, concerns were raised about the safety of the stairway adjacent to passageway 13, colloquially known as Stairway 13, the exit closest to Copland Road subway station. [4] It was documented that the stairs provided very little freedom of movement due to crowd pressure; many were lifted off their feet by the crowd and had no choice in which lane they were going to use, or at what pace. [5]

On 16 September 1961, two people were killed in a crush on the stairway. [6] In 1967, eight spectators were injured when leaving the stadium. In 1969, 26 were injured in an accident on Stairway 13 during egress. [5] No measures were taken to consult a professional firm to discuss the potential dangers from crowds on Stairway 13 following these events. Subsequent to the 1961 accident, Rangers had by then spent a total of £150,000 (equivalent to £2,600,000in 2021) on improvements to Ibrox, a very significant sum of money for the time. [7]

Events

The disaster occurred on Saturday, 2 January 1971, when 66 people were killed in a crush as supporters tried to leave the stadium. The match was an Old Firm game (Rangers v Celtic) and was attended by more than 80,000 fans. [8] [9] [10] In the 90th minute, Celtic took a 1–0 lead through Jimmy Johnstone, but in the final moments of the match, Colin Stein scored an equaliser for Rangers. As thousands of spectators were leaving the ground by stairway 13, it appears that someone may have fallen, causing a massive chain-reaction pile-up of people. [11] [6]

Initially there was speculation that some fans left the ground slightly early when Celtic scored, but then turned back when they heard the crowd cheering when Stein scored the equaliser, colliding with fans leaving the ground when the match ended. [12] The official inquiry into the disaster indicated that there was no truth in this hypothesis, however, as all the spectators were heading in the same direction at the time of the collapse. [12]

Most of the deaths were caused by compressive asphyxia, with bodies being stacked up to six feet (1.8 m) deep in the area. More than 200 other fans were injured.

Kenny Dalglish, then a Celtic player, was in the stands when the tragedy occurred. [13] Dalglish was also present at the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters, in 1985 and 1989 respectively, with Liverpool F.C. [14]

Victims

Sixty-six people died on the day at the stadium as a result of injuries incurred during the disaster. Of those who died, all were aged under 50, 61 were under 40, 49 were under 30, 33 were under 20 and 1 was aged under 10. The loss included many children, five of whom, Peter Easton, Martin Paton, Mason Phillips, Brian Todd and Douglas Morrison, were schoolmates from the same town of Markinch in Fife. The loss also included 31 teenagers, including the only female victim Margaret Ferguson of Maddiston in Falkirk, age 18. The youngest child to die was Nigel Patrick Pickup of Liverpool, age 9. [6]

Over 200 people were reported to have suffered injuries. [15]

Age rangeMalesFemalesTotal
0–9101
10–1931132
20–2916016
30–3912012
40–49505
Totals65166

Aftermath

The disaster spurred the UK government to look into safety at sports grounds. In February 1971, Scottish judge Lord Wheatley was asked to conduct an inquiry. [16] His findings, published in May 1972, formed the basis for the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide) , first published in 1973.

Exterior view of all-seater Ibrox Stadium, with Stairway 13 corner in the foreground (2008) Ibrox Stadium - geograph.org.uk - 882558.jpg
Exterior view of all-seater Ibrox Stadium, with Stairway 13 corner in the foreground (2008)

The 1971 disaster led to a huge redevelopment of the Ibrox ground, spearheaded by the then-manager Willie Waddell, who visited Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion for inspiration. [17] After three years' reconstruction work, three-quarters of the ground being replaced by modern all-seater stands, Ibrox was converted to a 44,000-capacity stadium by 1981. [18] Further work in the 1990s increased the stadium capacity to 50,000, and Ibrox was subsequently awarded UEFA five-star status.

The Scottish folk singer-songwriter Matt McGinn (1928–1977) wrote a song called "The Ibrox Disaster" as a tribute to the people who died in the tragic event.

Investigation

A fatal accident inquiry had been held in Glasgow which opened on 15 February 1971. [19] It lasted 7 days, although the jury of four men and three women had been instructed not to make recommendations around safety precautions at football grounds, because an inquiry led by Lord Wheatley would be examining this. [20]

Litigation

Sheriff James Irvine Smith, in his statement after a civil damages trial raised at Glasgow Sheriff Court in May 1974 by the widow of one of the Ibrox victims, ruled: "The said accident was due to the fault and negligence of the defenders, Rangers F.C.". [1] Smith found Rangers F.C. guilty on four counts in the case of the death of Charles Dougan, a 31-year-old boilermaker from Clydebank who died, as did 56 others, from traumatic asphyxia.

After hearing of the series of accidents on Stairway 13 including September 1961 when there were 70 people injured and two deaths, September 1967 when 11 people were taken to hospital, and January 1969 when 29 people were injured, Sheriff Irvine Smith stated,

So far as the evidence is concerned, the Board never so much as considered that it ought to apply its mind to the question of safety on that particular stairway [...] and would appear – I put it no higher – to have proceeded on the view that if the problem was ignored long enough it would eventually go away [...] Indeed it goes further than this because certain of their actions can only be interpreted as a deliberate and apparently successful attempt to deceive others that they were doing something, when in fact they were doing nothing.

— Sheriff Irvine Smith, damages statement. [1]

In the case of Charles Dougan and a further 60 cases brought by relatives of the dead, Rangers F.C. did not dispute the findings of Sheriff Irvine Smith and instead merely disputed the calculation of the damages as can be seen from the appeal judgement of the Sheriff Principal. [2] [6] In his book, Irvine Smith states that almost 40 years after his decision, he was viewed with disapproval by some Rangers-supporting friends, who accused him of "disloyalty". [21] [6]

Legacy

For some years after the 1971 disaster, there was only a small plaque at the corner of the ground where it happened. However, in 1995, Rangers announced plans to commemorate the 66 fans killed in the 1971 disaster. [22] [23] On 2 January 2001, the 30th anniversary of the tragedy, a larger monument was unveiled at the corner of the Bill Struth Main Stand and the Copland Road Stand. The monument contains blue plaques displaying the names of each person killed in all three incidents. A statue of John Greig, the Rangers captain at the time of the 1971 disaster, stands atop the monument.

In 2011, the 40th anniversary of the disaster was commemorated before the Old Firm game on 2 January 2011 when a one-minute silence was observed before the game. Both teams wore black armbands as a sign of respect and were led out by John Greig and Billy McNeill – the respective club captains at the time of the disaster (although Billy McNeill had not played due to injury).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Dalglish</span> Scottish footballer and manager (born 1951)

Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Liverpool's and Britain's greatest ever players. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic and 515 for Liverpool, playing as a forward, and earned a record 102 caps for the Scotland national team, scoring 30 goals, also a joint record. Dalglish won the Ballon d'Or Silver Award in 1983, the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1983, and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009, FourFourTwo magazine named Dalglish the greatest striker in post-war British football, and he has been inducted into both the Scottish and English Football Halls of Fame. He is very highly regarded by Liverpool fans, who still affectionately refer to him as King Kenny, and in 2006 voted him top of the fans' poll "100 Players Who Shook the Kop".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough disaster</span> Crowd crush during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final

The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance turnstiles, the police match commander, David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an influx of supporters entering the pens. This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the crush. With 97 deaths and 766 injuries, it has the highest death toll in British sporting history. Ninety-four people died on the day; another person died in hospital days later, and another victim died in 1993. In July 2021, a coroner ruled that Andrew Devine, who died 32 years later, after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the day, was the 97th victim. The match was abandoned and restaged at Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989; Liverpool won and went on to win that season's FA Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangers F.C.</span> Association football club in Glasgow, Scotland

Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. Although not its official name, the club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fourth-oldest football club in Scotland, Rangers was founded by four teenage boys as they walked through West End Park in March 1872 where they discussed the idea of forming a football club, and played its first match against the now defunct Callander at the Fleshers' Haugh area of Glasgow Green in May of the same year. Rangers' home ground, Ibrox Stadium, designed by stadium architect Archibald Leitch and opened in 1929, is a Category B listed building and the third-largest football stadium in Scotland. The club has always played in royal blue shirts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Firm</span> Prominent rivalry in Scottish football between Celtic and Rangers

The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded in Scottish culture. It has reflected and contributed to political, social and religious division and sectarianism in Scotland. As a result, matches between them have had an enduring appeal around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic Park</span> Football stadium in Glasgow, Scotland

Celtic Park is a football stadium, currently the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also known as Parkhead or Paradise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrox Stadium</span> Football stadium in Glasgow

Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of 50,817. The stadium was designed by renowned football stadium architect Archibald Leitch, with renovations to the stadium between 1978 and 1981, as well as 1990 and 1991, being designed by The Miller Partnership and Gareth Hutchison respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampden Park</span> Association football stadium in Glasgow, Scotland

Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football team. Hampden Park is owned by the Scottish Football Association (SFA), and regularly hosts the latter stages of the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. A UEFA category four stadium, Hampden Park has hosted six European finals including the 1960 European Cup final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt which, with a crowd of 127,621 in attendance, is the highest ever recorded attendance for a European Cup final.

The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, at the time of the report, 95 Liverpool fans had died. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final report was published in January 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sectarianism in Glasgow</span> Sectarian rivalry between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Glasgow

Sectarianism in Glasgow takes the form of long-standing religious and political sectarian rivalry between Catholics and Protestants. It is particularly reinforced by the fierce rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C., the two largest Scottish football clubs sometimes referred to as the Old Firm, whose support base is traditionally predominantly Catholic and Protestant respectively. A 2003 report for Glasgow City Council indicated that people clearly believe "sectarianism is still prevalent in Glasgow", but that members of the public were divided on the strength of the relationship between football and sectarianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Stein</span> Scottish footballer

Colin Anderson Stein is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Hibernian, Rangers, Coventry City and Kilmarnock. Stein was part of the Rangers team that won the 1971–72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and he scored one of the goals in a 3–2 victory against Dinamo Moscow in the final. Stein also represented Scotland and the Scottish League XI. He scored nine goals in 21 appearances for Scotland, including four goals in a 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Cyprus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Leitch</span> Scottish architect (1865-1939)

Archibald Keir Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotland national football team home stadium</span> Primary home stadium for the Scotland national football team

Hampden Park in Glasgow is the primary home stadium for the Scotland national football team. This has been the case since 1906, soon after it opened. The present site of Hampden Park is the third location to bear that name and both the previous locations also hosted Scotland games. Scotland have also played many of their home games in other stadiums throughout their history, both in friendly matches and for competitive tournaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish football attendance records</span>

This article lists Scottish football attendance records under the categories listed below. The highest ever attendance for a UEFA competition match was in the 1969–70 European Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, Scotland's national stadium. A record 136,505 people attended the match between Celtic and Leeds United. The attendance of 149,415 for the Scotland vs. England international match of 1937 at Hampden Park is also a European record. The attendance of 147,365 for the 1937 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park is a European record for a club match. Rangers' record attendance of 118,567 at Ibrox is a British record for a league match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangers F.C. supporters</span> Supporters of Rangers F.C., a Scottish association football club

Rangers Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1902 Ibrox disaster</span> Stadium structural failure in Glasgow, Scotland

The 1902 Ibrox disaster was the collapse of a stand at Ibrox Park in Govan, Scotland. The incident led to the deaths of 25 supporters and injuries to 500 more during an international association football match between Scotland and England on 5 April 1902 as part of the 1901–02 British Home Championship.

The Dubai Champions Cup was an annual association football match contested between the champions of the English and Scottish leagues. The competition took place for three consecutive seasons from 1986–87 to 1988–89 in the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai, during the time when English football clubs were banned from taking part in UEFA club competitions as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

On 17 October 1987, Rangers faced Celtic in a Scottish Premier Division fixture at Ibrox Stadium, during the 1987–88 season. The match finished 2–2, but is best remembered for the sending off of three players and the subsequent Court case that took place as a result.

Ibrox Park was a football ground in Ibrox, Scotland. It was the home ground of Rangers from 1887 until they moved to the adjacent second Ibrox in 1899. The ground staged the Scottish Cup Final four times and also three Scotland international matches.

The Aberdeen–Rangers rivalry refers to football matches and related activity involving the Scottish football clubs Aberdeen and Rangers.

Football in Scotland has been dominated by two clubs, Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow and collectively known as the Old Firm due to the mutual economic benefits of the public interest in their longstanding rivalry, since the introduction of a national league system in 1890. While many of the league contests have been closely fought between the pair and have occasionally involved other clubs, periods of one-team dominance have occurred, most significantly three periods of nine championship wins in succession since the 1970s which has led to the term "Nine in a row" becoming a commonly-used phrase, and a topic which has drawn much attention.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Source: National Records of Scotland, Ref: SC36/1972/1/3 Interlocutors (viewing by appointment only).
  2. 1 2 Source: National Records of Scotland, Ref: SC36/1972/1/3 Interlocutors (viewing by appointment only)
  3. ↑ Sheils, Robert (November 1998). "The fatalities at the Ibrox disaster of 1902" (PDF). The Sports Historian. British Society of Sports History. 18 (2): 148–155. doi:10.1080/17460269809445801. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
  4. ↑ "OS 1:1,250, 1944–1967". Explore georeferenced maps. National Library of Scotland . Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. 1 2 Dickie, JF (1995). "Major Crowd Catastrophes". Safety Science . 18 (4): 315. doi:10.1016/0925-7535(94)00048-8.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Hodgman, John (3 December 2020). "'Singing and dancing to their deaths': football's forgotten tragedy". The Guardian . pp. 6–8.
  7. ↑ Murphy, James (23 February 1971). "Directors evidence on stairway safety". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  8. ↑ Harris, Daniel (4 September 2014). "The forgotten story of … Rangers' 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup win". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Rangers 1 — 1 Celtic, Scottish League (02/01/1971) [Rangers team]". Fitbastats. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "Rangers 1 — 1 Celtic, Scottish League (02/01/1971) [Celtic team]". Fitbastats. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "On this day — 2 January — 1971: Disaster at Ibrox". BBC. 2 January 1971. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  12. 1 2 "1971: Sixty-six die in Scottish football disaster". BBC. 2 January 1971. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish: Hillsborough families are magnificent". Liverpool Echo .
  14. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish on Liverpool – the club, the fans, the city, and Hillsborough". BBC.
  15. ↑ Williams, Craig (2 January 2020). "The names of the 66 killed in the 1971 Ibrox disaster". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "Wheatley heads safety inquiry". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow. 5 February 1971. p. 1.
  17. ↑ Crampsey, Bob (22 December 1999). "Imperious Ibrox is a ground for celebration". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  18. ↑ Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Britain. Collins Willow. p. 468. ISBN   0-00-218426-5.
  19. ↑ "Ibrox disaster inquiry opens to-day". The Glasgow Herald. 15 February 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  20. ↑ Murphy, James (24 February 1971). "Rangers urged to seek advice on stairway". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  21. ↑ Smith, Irvine (2011). Law, Life and Laughter; A personal verdict. Black & White publishers. ISBN   978-1-84502-356-0.
  22. ↑ "Memorial to Ibrox disaster planned". The Herald. 21 December 1995. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  23. ↑ Ryan, Paul (29 November 2000). "Rangers plan memorial to victims of Ibrox disaster". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.