maqroll Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Coming up on the 50th anniversary. Excellent piece by a guy who was caught in a crush in the same stairwell 10 years prior and again in 1971- Quote In 1971, an Old Firm derby at Ibrox ended with the death of 66 fans as they celebrated a late goal. John Hodgman survived the terrifying crush and, 50 years on, asks how Rangers avoided taking responsibility 'Singing and dancing to their deaths': football’s forgotten tragedy | News | The Guardian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhavenhibby Posted December 4, 2020 Visiting Supporter Share Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) Very good poignant article. These were different times to be a supporter and the terracing, although exciting, could be a dangerous place to be in a packed stand. I have many memories of a packed Holte End, and with the crowd movement and sway, you got carried along and soon ended up yards away from where you started and got separated from friends at passionate moments in the game. Certainly many grounds of that era had similar steep stairs like Ibrox straight off the back of the terrace........I know those at the back of Easter Roads old East bank did. Unfortunately after the Ibrox disaster nothing much changed in fan safety and it had to take another disaster ( caused by different scenario) at Hillsborough for major changes to be implemented. Having always attended games in England and Scotland to watch my football, I am not a fan of all-seater stadia as, to me, a good deal of excitement and atmosphere is lost. Celtic Park have had a section of "safe standing" for some seasons now which works well despite holding "the Green Brigade" who are the most vocal and boisterous members of their support. I hope more clubs can implement this. Ibrox was a terrible tragedy and I remember watching the events unfold on the TV just as I did 18 years later in Sheffield. Its a pity it took another disaster to force major changes into fan safety to be implemented. I would imagine Ibrox was not all ticket and in those days just packed as many in as possible whereas the semi final would have been. It just shows that that wasn't the answer when a gate mistakenly gets opened and a crush ensues. Thanks for posting and thoughts are with Rangers FC and any families who lost loved ones on that fateful afternoon. Edited December 5, 2020 by newhavenhibby 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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