The 1971 Ibrox catastrophe is a crush amongst the crowds in the Old Firm football game, which caused 66 deaths and over 200 injuries. It happened on January 2, 1971 on the steps out at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the worst soccer disaster in England until the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, England, in 1989.
The owner of the stadium, Rangers F.C., then decided to be guilty in the assessment of the sheriff on one of the deaths. Rangers did not deny this decision, and was sued for damages in 60 other cases brought by the victim's family.
Video 1971 Ibrox disaster
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The first disaster in Ibrox occurred during the international international match 1902 between Scotland and England. The back of the Tribune The wooden tribune collapsed because of heavy rain the night before, causing 25 deaths and 517 injuries.
During 1963, there was concern about the safety of the staircase adjacent to hall 13, known as Stairway 13, the closest exit to the Copland Road subway station. It has been documented that the ladder provides very little freedom of movement due to crowd pressure; many are lifted from their feet by the crowd and have no choice on which path they will use, or at what speed. On September 16, 1961 two people were killed in an accident on the stairs, and there were two other incidents, in 1967 and 1969. In 1967, eight spectators were injured when leaving the stadium. In 1969, 26 were injured in an accident on Stairway 13 on exit. No steps were taken to consult a professional company to discuss the potential dangers of the crowd on Stairway 13 after this incident. After the 1961 crash, Rangers then spent a total of Ã, £ 150,000 for the repair of Ibrox, a very significant amount of money for that time (Ã, £ 2.3 million in 2018 money).
Maps 1971 Ibrox disaster
Events
The disaster occurred on Saturday, January 2, 1971, when 66 people were killed in an accident, when supporters tried to leave the stadium. The match was an Old Firm game (Rangers v Celtic) and was attended by over 80,000 fans. In the 90th minute, Celtic led 1-0 and some Rangers supporters started to leave the stadium. However, in the final moments of the match, Colin Stein scored the equalizer for Rangers.
As thousands of spectators leave the ground on the 13th step, it appears that someone, perhaps a child being held on his father's shoulder, fell off, causing a massive pile of reactions.
The disappearance included many children, five of them schoolmates from the town of Markinch in Fife. The youngest son who died was Nigel Patrick Pickup from Liverpool, age 9. Most deaths were caused by compressed asphyxia, with body stacked up to six feet deep inside the area. More than 200 other fans were injured.
Initially there was speculation that some fans left the ground a little early when Celtic scored, but then turned when they heard the crowd cheering as Stein scored the equalizer, colliding with fans who left the ground when the game ended. The official inquiry into the disaster shows that there is no truth in this hypothesis, as all spectators are heading in the same direction at the moment of collapse.
Consequences
The disaster spurred the British government to seek safety on the field. In February 1971, Scottish judge Lord Wheatley was asked to investigate. His invention, published in May 1972, formed the basis for the Guide to Safety in the Field of Sport (Green Guide) , first published in 1973.
The 1971 disaster led to massive redevelopment of Ibrox land, spearheaded by manager Willie Waddell, who visited Borussia Dortmund Westfalenstadion for inspiration. After three years of reconstruction work, three quarters of the land was replaced by a modern all-seater stand, Ibrox was converted into a 44,000-capacity stadium in 1981. Further work in the 1990s increased the stadium's capacity to 50,000, and Ibrox was awarded UEFA's five-star status.
For several years after the 1971 disaster there was only a small plaque on the corner of the ground where it happened. However, in 1995 Rangers announced plans to commemorate 66 fans who were killed in the 1971 disaster. On January 2, 2001, the 30th anniversary of the tragedy, a larger monument was unveiled at the corner of Bill Struth Main Stand and Copland Road Stand. The monument contains a blue plaque featuring the names of every person killed in the three incidents. The statue of John Greig, the captain of Rangers at the time of the 1971 disaster, stands on the monument.
In 2011, the 40th anniversary of the disaster was commemorated before the Old Firm game on 2 January 2011 when a minute's silence was observed before the game. Both teams wore black armbands as a token of respect and led by John Greig and Billy McNeill - respective club captains at the time of the disaster (although Billy McNeill did not play due to injury).
Ruin the claim
Sheriff James Irvine Smith, in his damages statement, decided: "The accident was caused by mistakes and negligence of defenders, Rangers F.C.". Smith found Rangers F.C. guilty of four counts in the case of the death of Charles Dougan, a 31-year-old boilermaker from Clydebank who died, like 56 others, from traumatic asphyxia.
After hearing a series of accidents on Stairway 13 including September 1961 when there were 70 people injured and two deaths, September 1967 when 11 people were taken to hospital, and January 1969 when 29 people were injured, Sheriff Irvine Smith stated,
As far as the evidence is concerned, the Council has never so much considered that it should apply its mind to the question of salvation on a certain ladder [...] and it will appear - I put it no higher - to have continued the view that if the problem is neglected long enough it will eventually lost [...] It is more than this because their particular actions can only be construed as a deliberate attempt and seem to succeed to deceive others that they are doing something, when in fact they are not doing anything.
In the case of Charles Dougan and 60 other cases brought by the victim's family, Rangers F.C. does not deny Irvine Smith Sheriff's findings and instead merely debates the calculation of the damage as can be seen from the appellation of the Chief Sheriff.
More detailed reports can be found on audible evidence and the truth of Rangers F.C. witnesses in the December 1974 edition of Foul - The Alternative Football Paper .
In his book, Irvine Smith states that 30, and nearly 40 years after his decision, he is viewed with disagreement by some Rangers supporters, who accuse him of being "unfaithful."
See also
- 1902 Ibrox disaster
- Burnden Park disaster
- Luzhniki disaster - in Moscow on October 20, 1982
- Fire Bradford City stadium
- Hillsborough disaster
- List of disasters in the UK and previous countries
References
External links
- Name of victim and their age
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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