Backgrounder on the Celtic-Rangers rivalry.

-cman- · 25 Jul 2003, 04:08 PM

Introduction
With each turning of the season new fans come to the strange and beautiful world of Scottish football. Television and the Internet continue to shrink the cultural boundaries of the Earth. However these new fans often lack the lifetime of immersion in the bubbling stew that is Scotland which would allow them to grasp the finer points of the game. Here then is a Frequently Asked Questions for all of you. If you think you have something worth adding, PM your humble moderator, who is, after all just a Yank himself.

-cman-
24/6/03 -- Dubuque, Iowa

1. What is the Deal with Celtic & Rangers?

Well first of all, you've got your typical crosstown rivalry between two top clubs. Think Yankees-Dodgers back in the day; think Cubs-Sox, uh.. WAY, WAY back in the day; AC - Inter on any given day. Now, dose liberally with a couple of centuries of the "Irish Question." Finally, for the cherry on top place the economics of Scottish football which guarantee that EVERY year there are only two teams really in contention for the league trophy -- Celtic and Rangers. Viola, flambe du football!

The Catholic vs. Protestant Thing.
Let's just get this one out of the way right off the bat, shall we? Doctoral dissertations can and have been written on sectarianism in Scottish football, so be warned. A fine intro to the subject can be found on The Hearts Supporters' site of all places. With apolgies to Andrew Sanders, here are some of the highlights from that article with additional annotations by me.

Quote:

The issue of Sectarianism in Scottish Football is a very broad topic with wide ranging views. Many writers divide the issue into three parts: the immigration of Irish people around the time of the potato famine; the years post 1888 after Celtic football club was formed; and the modern day, since Rangers abandoned their Protestant only signing policy in 1989.

A great deal of work on the subject has been done by Bill Murray. He has written two books on the issue, the first of which is simply called "The Old Firm". (Ed. note: Links are to Amazon.co.uk) In this book, Murray looks at the interaction of sport, politics and society beginning with the formation of the football teams of Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic, commonly referred to as "The Old Firm" in the late 19th century. He examines the initial interactions between the two clubs after the formation of Celtic, although he does also mention the formation of Rangers, who preceded their rivals by some sixteen years. He considers the wider social tensions between the native Protestant population and the immigrant Catholic population and compares these to the tensions between the clubs, as he feels each came to represent opposing sides of the sectarian divide. While this book was first published in 1984, Murray updated it in 2000 to include significant events such as the signing of Rangers first Catholic, Maurice Johnston and the incident involving ex-vice Chairman of Rangers, Donald Findlay QC, where he was videotaped singing sectarian songs.

In this book, Murray is perhaps guilty of laying blame solely at the feet of Rangers and their supporters. Despite their maintenance of a sectarian employment policy for some 116 years, Murray fails to evaluate the reasons for this, as there may have been several significant internal factors that led to there being no Catholics employed at Ibrox until 1989, and merely dismissed it as blatant sectarianism. It is far too simplistic to entirely apportion the blame to Rangers and Murray is guilty of following popular opinion and doing so, without paying sufficient attention to significant events at Celtic.

In a second book, "The Old Firm in the New Age" Murray attempts to examine the changing relationship between the clubs in the years following the abolition of the sectarian policy at Ibrox. In this book, he discusses the effect of money and European football and how these factors have contributed to changed relations between the two clubs. He argues that sectarianism is still prevalent in Scottish football and this makes the clubs appear unattractive to outside investors. In spite of this argument, Murray fails to recognise that the two clubs are among the most successful in Britain and indeed Europe and he does not consider the possible reasons for this success. Relative failings in European competition are touched upon, but all too briefly as Murray again lays siege to Rangers, still blaming them for the presence of sectarianism in Scotland. He fails to see that only joint efforts can lead to any possible resolution to the problem and is far too lenient on Celtic and their efforts to counter sectarianism.

Joseph Bradley has examined the issue of Gaelic Sports in Scotland and how the immigrant Irish brought their native sports with them to their newly adopted country in "Sport, Culture, Politics and Society: Irish Immigrants and the Gaelic Athletic Association". Although the book would appear to be about any Gaelic sporting teams in Scotland, it is Celtic Football Club who gain the most references. While he attempts to discuss the popularity of Gaelic sports in Scotland, he fails to recognise that the immigrant Irish took more to the sports of their new homeland, perhaps in an attempt to assimilate themselves into society more successfully. While the book does provide an interesting history of Gaelic games in Scotland, it does not properly consider why these games did not continue to be part of the lives of the immigrant Irish and as such is based on a fundamental misconception.

Ronnie Esplin, in his book "Down the Copland Road" discusses the role of Rangers Football Club in society and devotes a chapter to the issue of sectarianism. He merges his own work with quotes from a group of Rangers supporters on a variety of topics. While the views of the supporters are often extreme and occasionally contradictory, they provide an interesting insight into the thought of the average fan on the terraces at Ibrox, the home ground of Rangers. His accounts of significant events are often basic and offer no real analysis, but this work provides important contrasting viewpoints from otherwise difficult to reach sources.

The work of Finn considers the consequences of the Irish Diaspora, with particular reference to the world of football. He compares the Irish immigrants with their Scottish counterparts in other countries and discusses how the two were able to establish football teams, yet only the Irish were to suffer from any form of social prejudices. He also talks of the influence of the Church in football and how, although the Church had a significant part to play in the early days of football in England, this is never given as evidence of sectarianism.

For Finn, political and nationalist symbolism has always been evident in football, citing the names of many football teams that include names such as Caledonian, Thistle and Victoria.

Another significant event for Finn was the attempts by the Irish teams of Dundee Harp, Edinburgh Hibernian and Glasgow Celtic amongst others, to diminish their Irish roots . For Finn such events were significant as they represented some form of ideological threat to the Irish immigrants, as a part of their heritage was being taken away from them.

Finn tends to look at events from a more sociological perspective, but as such, provides interesting theories on the development of Scottish football and sectarianism within this area. He tends to digress somewhat on discussion of teams history, dwelling a little on the changes that went on at Dundee Harp in their transition to Dundee United, but nonetheless provides some useful work on the topic.

Alan Lugton focuses entirely on the formation and early years of Hibernian Football club in "The Making of Hibernian". As the pioneers of Irish football teams, from their base in the "Little Ireland" area of Edinburgh, Lugton discusses the factors affecting the decision to form the club out of the Catholic Young Mens Society in 1875 as well as the influence the club had over the immigrant Irish population generally from their conception. He examines the subculture of "Little Ireland" where the immigrant Irish settled and discusses the hardships and prejudices encountered by the Irish people as they attempted to integrate themselves into wider society, observing that the formation of a football team was part of this process of integration.

in progress... last edited 24/7/03 1503 CDT