Ibrox disaster: on this day

1971: Sixty-six die in Scottish football disaster
Sixty-six football supporters have been killed following a match between Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers at the Ibrox Park stadium in Glasgow. The disaster occurred when crush barriers collapsed as thousands of fans made their way out of the stadium.
Initial reports suggest the tragedy, which happened on stairway 13 of the stadium, was caused when hundreds of Rangers fans began leaving the match early believing Celtic had won.
Jimmy Johnstone had scored for Celtic with just a minute to go, but Colin Stein scored an equalising goal for Rangers during injury time causing a huge roar to erupt inside the stadium.
According to eye-witnesses, fans attempting to get back up the stairs after hearing the roar, collided head-on with those coming down the stairs.
Everyone was struggling to get out, suffocating - it was essentially a fight for survival

Rescuers, who were on the scene within minutes, tried to force their way through the crowds, but their efforts were mostly in vain. One man who managed to struggle out of the crush, described the scene.
"I was making my way out of the stadium down the stairs when suddenly everything seemed to stop," he said.
"The lads at the back just kept coming forward down the stairs.
"I went down with the rest of the crowd, being pushed and pulled onto the ground.
"Everyone was struggling to get out, suffocating - it was essentially a fight for survival. After 10 or 15 minutes I was dragged out by a policeman and brought to hospital by ambulance."
Eighteen-year-old Margaret Ferguson was the only female fan to be killed in the tragedy.
Alick Buchanan-Smith, Scottish minister for Home Affairs, has called for an immediate inquiry into the disaster.




R.I.P

 

R.I.P

 

Even with it being the huns involved and how much I hate them, I would never wish that kind of thing on anyone. A horrible way to go and a terrible tragedy. Thank * safety at games has improved since then.

 

i was looking through the internet 1 day and came across a personal page about the families of the people who died at ibrox
i read one of them ,it was about a boys memory on how he found out about the disaster and the family waiting for dad to come home,and when the door bell rang how they rushed to answer it only to find the police at the door and how they knew at that moment his dad was dead.

i wrote to the guy who wrote it ,and he sent me an email back thanking me writing to him ,he also said after all these years hes amazed how many people have took the time to read his story and write to him ,

i still have that email in my drafts email box

 

wouldnt wish this sort of thing on any football fan, things like this as well as the recent tragedy really put football into perspective.