Ibrox disaster
 Memorial statue at Ibrox commemorating the 1971 tragedy |
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| Dates of incidents | 5 April 1902, 16 September 1961 and 2 January 1971 |
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| Location |  Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland. |
| Deaths in 1902 tragedy | 25 |
| Deaths in 1961 tragedy | 2 |
| Deaths in 1971 tragedy | 66 |
The Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents, in 1902 and 1971, which led to major loss of life at the Ibrox Stadium (formerly Ibrox Park) in Glasgow, Scotland.
Contents |
[edit] First Ibrox disaster
On 5 April 1902, during the 1902 British Home Championship match between Scotland and England, the back of the newly built West Tribune Stand collapsed due to heavy rainfall the previous night. Hundreds of supporters fell up to 40 feet (12 m) to the ground below. 25 people died and 517 were injured.[1]
The stand at the time consisted of wooden terracing supported by a steel girder frame. Following the accident such frameworks were discredited, and replaced throughout the United Kingdom by terracing supported by earthworks or reinforced concrete.
The tragedy occurred after 51 minutes of the match, which was allowed to finish, to avoid supporters exiting en masse crowding the area obstructing rescue work, but was declared void by the two Football Associations. All proceeds of the replayed match at Villa Park, Birmingham on 3 May 1902 went to the disaster fund.
[edit] Further incidents
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. On 16 September 1961 two people were killed in a crush on the stairway, and there were two other incidents – in 1967 and 1969 – where several people were injured. Rangers had by then spent a total of £150,000 on improvements, a very significant sum of money for the time.[2]
[edit] Second Ibrox disaster
The second major incident 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 and was attended by over 80,000 fans. In the last regulation minute, Celtic took a 1–0 lead and some Rangers supporters started to leave the stadium. However, in the final moments of the match, Colin Stein scored an equaliser for Rangers.[3]
As thousands of spectators were leaving the ground by stairway 13, it appears that someone, possibly a child being carried on his father's shoulders, fell, causing a massive chain-reaction pile-up of people.[4]
The tragic loss included many children – five of them schoolmates from the town of Markinch in Fife. Most of the deaths were caused by compressive asphyxia, with bodies being stacked up to six feet deep in the area. Over 200 other fans were injured.
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.[5] 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.[5] In his autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson wrote that his brother, Martin, had attended the game against his parents' wishes and – since he returned home late – he was initially feared, by his family, to have been caught up in the disaster.
[edit] Consequences
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. 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. Further work in the 1990s increased the stadium capacity to 50,000, and Ibrox was subsequently awarded UEFA five-star status, now category four.
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.[6][7] On 2 January 2001, the thirtieth 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 with 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).
[edit] See also
- Luzhniki disaster - a stampede, similar to second Ibrox disaster. It happened in Moscow on 20 October 1982
- List of disasters of the United Kingdom and preceding states
[edit] References
- ^ Sheils, Robert (17 May 2007). "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. http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/SportsHistorian/1998/sh182k.pdf.
- ^ Ferrier, Bob; Robert McElroy (2005). Rangers: The Complete Record. Breedon Books. pp. 67–8. ISBN 1 85983 481 7.
- ^ name = "BBC: On this day—January 2, 1971")>[1]
- ^ The Ibrox Disaster, BBC.
- ^ a b 1971: Sixty-six die in Scottish football disaster, BBC.
- ^ http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/memorial-to-ibrox-disaster-planned-1.645784
- ^ Ryan, Paul (29 November 2000). "Rangers plan memorial to victims of Ibrox disaster". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/scottishpremier/2993628/Rangers-plan-memorial-to-victims-of-Ibrox-disaster.html. Retrieved 4 May 2010.[dead link]
