Ibrox Disaster Tragedy (1971)
The Old Firm match of 2 January 1971 that ended in Britain's worst football disaster before Hillsborough.
On 2 January 1971 a crush on an exit stairway at Ibrox Park during an Old Firm game between Rangers and Celtic killed 66 people and injured more than 200. It is known as the 1971 Ibrox disaster or the Second Ibrox Disaster.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 2 January 1971
- Location
- Stairway 13, Ibrox Park
- Deaths
- 66
- Injured
- More than 200
Reader's Guide
The crush happened on Stairway 13, the exit closest to Copland Road subway station, where problems had been documented for years: two deaths in 1961 and injuries in 1967 and 1969, without a professional firm being consulted. A sheriff's judgement later ruled Rangers, the stadium's owner, at fault for one of the deaths; the club did not dispute it and was sued for damages in 60 other cases.
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