Scottish Premiership In 1971, 66 people lost their lives
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Half a century has passed since that cold winter afternoon on January 2, 1971, when 66 people, including 31 minors, died at the Ibrox Stadium disaster in Scotland.
It was the day of the Old Firm between Rangers and Celtic, when as many as 100,000 fans attended the famous Scottish derby.
Jimmy Johnstone gave Celtic the lead in the 90th minute and several Rangers fans decided to leave the stadium as the visitors seemed to have clinched the victory. However, Colin Stein netted a late equaliser for Rangers and supporters rushed back to the stands while others were departing.
As a result, congestion at Stairway 13 led to 66 deaths and dozens of injuries in a tragedy that has been listed as the ninth greatest in the history of world football and second in that of the British game, following Hillsborough.
Most of the victims passed away due to suffocation, piling up on each other in the grandstand, where they were trapped while the game ended normally.
In fact, many of the players headed to the dressing room as if nothing had happened, although then, a few minutes after the game was over, they were informed about the tragedy.
The playing field itself served as a makeshift hospital, as well as the changing rooms, where the corpses were piled up.
Tragically, Ibrox Stadium had already seen two other horrific afternoons, first in 1902, when 25 spectators were killed in a similar incident during a Scotland match and in 1961, when two other fans also passed away.
The 1971 tragedy completely changed the conception of Ibrox, with a comprehensive renovation taking place, inspired by the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.
Both teams paid tribute to the 66 victims in the Old Firm between Rangers and Celtic that took place on Saturday afternoon at Ibrox Stadium.
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