The Ibrox Disaster
2 January 1971: 66 people die on Stairway 13 at Ibrox.
The 1971 Ibrox disaster, also called the Second Ibrox Disaster, was a crush in the crowd at an Old Firm game between Rangers and Celtic on 2 January 1971. It happened on an exit stairway at Ibrox Park and led to 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 2 January 1971
- Location
- Ibrox Park, Glasgow, Scotland
- Deaths
- 66
- Injuries
- > 200
Reader's Guide
It was the worst football disaster in Britain until Hillsborough in 1989. Concerns about Stairway 13, the exit nearest Copland Road subway station, had been raised in 1963; two people were killed in a crush there in 1961, and there were injuries in 1967 and 1969. Rangers were later ruled at fault in a sheriff's judgement on one of the deaths and were sued for damages in 60 other cases.
The first Ibrox disaster had happened in 1902, when part of a wooden stand collapsed during a Scotland v England match, killing 25 people.
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