THE OLD FIRM

The Rivalry That Divides a City

Abhijeet Khirdekar
What is a “Sports Rivalry?”

“an intense competition

between athletic teams or
athletes, affecting
participants, management,
and supporters, all to
varying degrees”
To what extent does domestic sport cause
relations between people groups to worsen,
and how does the rivalry affect the people of
Glasgow to this day?
Is there a limit to Hooliganism?
● The rivalry between the Celtics and
Rangers fans is extremely violent
● Altercations are common
● Orwell claims that sporting can lead
to savagery 3 stabbed in Old Firm bloodbath, violence breaks out after Old Firm game

(Sports is) “war, minus the shooting”.

- George Orwell
 What is Sectarianism?

- Sectarianism is defined as:

“attitudes, belief systems,
symbols and practices through
which one group of people sets
itself apart from another within
an otherwise shared culture”“

Supporters of Celtic (right) and Rangers during an Old Firm

match at Celtic Park in 2008. The Union Jack flags signify the
Unionist political views of many Rangers supporters.
A Sectarian Divide
● Known as the
“Old Firm Derby”
● Hooliganism
between fans has
caused deaths
● Ingrained into
Glaswegian
society
Old Firm fans are heavily
segregated during games and
monitored by police to prevent
fights from breaking out
HISTORICAL PREMISES FOR THE RIVALRY

● Scotland was Roman

Catholic
● The Catholic Church was
outlawed following the
Scottish Reformation in
1560
● Presbyterian Church
becoming the official state
religion
Historical otla
nd
S c
w,
Context: Gla
sgo

- Economic hardship in
Ireland caused Ireland
immigration to
Glasgow
- Conflicts arose
between the
Protestant Scottish
and Catholic Irish
- Clubs formed around
the religious
communities

Geographic map of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(Not to scale)
Club Rivalry
01 Rangers F.C.
A historically Protestant
Christian team
02 Celtic F.C.
A historically Catholic
Christian team
03 Violence, Derogatory Chants
Ex. “Dundee Hamilton, ‘f’ the Pope
and the Vatican” (Rangers chant)

04 Racial Slurs
Terms like “Fenian” and “Proddy”
considered slurs; commonly used by
Rangers and Celtic fans respectively

05 Discrimination
Practice now outlawed, officially
ended in 1989
The Murder of Mark Scott
● 15 year old murdered
● Killer ran behind him,
screamed: "Ya’
Fenian b******" and
slashed his throat.
● Showed that
sectarianism is a
huge problem
● Prompted founding of
the anti-sectarian
charity “Nil By Mouth”
Image of Mark Scott
STATISTICS OF INCIDENTS Survey taken in 2003
Glasgow City Council Survey
● 65% felt sectarian violence
Results:
was common
● 58% felt sectarian threats and
harassment were common
● 2/3rds disagreed with the
statement that “discrimination
along sectarian lines no longer
exists”
Flares set ● The same proportion
off at Ibrox
stadium disagreed that “sectarianism is
(home of
Rangers
F.C.) after
becoming a thing of the past.”
Old Firm
game Source: NFO Social Research, (2003) Sectarianism in
victory Glasgow- Final Report, Glasgow City Council
STATISTICS

Scottish Election surveys taken from 1979 - 2000 (older)

1979-2000 2006-2011 2012/13 2019/20

Roman Catholicism was the religion that was the focus of the

majority of cases – 56.5% of incidents were derogatory towards Catholicism

SOLUTION
Fund anti-sectarian charities aimed
1 to educate and spread awareness

Fund school trips to educate the youth

2
on the dangers of hooliganism

Increase severity of
3
punishments

Force the clubs to openly

4
acknowledge and criticise violence
 SOLUTION
● Allow the Scottish government to
Provide more funding for the
anti-sectarian charities
Nil by Mouth and Sense over
Sectarianism
● Education is pivotal in our fight
against this toxic bigotry. By
working directly with young
people in schools and colleges
Sense Over Sectarianism is
helping ensure that future
generations can drive forward
the change needed that
eradicates sectarianism once
and for all.”
- Humza Yousaf
 LIMITATIONS TO THE PROPOSED SOLUTION

Educating Results may not be

shown unless the
the next Results not
Clubs come forth to
generation guaranteed denounce
takes time sectarianism
 COUNTERARGUMENT: JUST FOR FUN?

“It’s [Old Firm rivalry] not really quite as serious as it’s often
Rangers fan Mark Dingwall portrayed in documentaries, where because of the religious side of
things, they try to make out that Glasgow is a sectarian hotbed.”

Abdul Rafiq, Rangers “It's just a bit of banter and nobody's getting hurt”
fan
COUNTERARGUMENT: The Economic Impact

THE RIVALRY BRINGS

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY TO
GLASGOW; THE RIVALRY
SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED
2,580 full-time jobs in Scotland jobs
were created in Glasgow and £118-120
million were generated in revenue by the
two teams alone
 Economic Impact (continued)
Celtic FC contribution £285
million to Scotland's economy,
more than the 2014
Commonwealth Games that were
held in Scotland

Said to contribute
£165 million alone
“Imagine a factory closing with the loss of
over 3,000 jobs. That is what would happen
if the two clubs ceased to be.”
-Kim Swales, a Professor of Economics at the University of
Strathclyde from the Fraser of Allander Institute
Economic Impact (continued further)

Matchday sales
were “48 percent
of all overall
revenue – the
highest amongst
European top lier
leagues” in the
2018-2019 season
In Conclusion:
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 ORAL DEFENSE
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Please keep this slide for attribution.