Ibrox disaster
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Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents which led to major loss of life at Ibrox Stadium (formerly Ibrox Park) in Glasgow, Scotland.
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[edit] First Ibrox disaster
On April 5, 1902, during a Scotland vs England match in the British Home Championship, a section of terracing at the back of the West Stand collapsed. Hundreds of supporters fell up to 40 feet (12 m) to the ground below. 26 people died and over 500 were injured.
The stand at the time consisted of wooden terracing supported by a steel girder frame. Following the accident such frameworks were discredited, and replaced throughout the United Kingdom by terracing supported by earthworks or reinforced concrete.
[edit] Further problems
During the 1960s there were concerns about the safety of Stairway 13, the exit closest to Copeland Road Underground Station. On 16 September 1961 two people were killed in a crush on the stairway, and there were a couple of other incidents where several people were injured. However Rangers had spent £150,000 on improvements, a very significant sum for the time.
[edit] Second Ibrox disaster
The second major incident occurred on January 2, 1971 at the end of a Rangers vs Celtic game. After 89 minutes of scoreless football Celtic took a 1-0 lead and many Rangers supporters left the stadium. However, in the last seconds of stoppage time, Colin Stein scored an equaliser for Rangers.
As the crowd were leaving the ground, barriers on Stairway 13 gave way causing a massive chain-reaction pile-up of spectators. The tragedy resulted in the loss of 66 lives, many of whom were children - five of them schoolmates from the town of Markinch, in Fife. Bodies were stacked as deep as six feet in the area. Over 200 other fans were injured.
Initially it was speculated that fans leaving the ground turned back when they heard roars from the crowd. The speculation was that those who turned back collided with fans leaving the ground when the match ended. The official inquiry into the disaster indicated that there was no truth in this hypothesis. All the spectators were going in the same direction at the time of the collapse. The myth surrounding the Stein goal became widely believed for many years after the disaster.
[edit] Consequences
The 1971 disaster led to a huge redevelopment of Ibrox, spearheaded by the general manager at the time Willie Waddell, who visited Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion for inspiration. Ibrox was converted to an all seater stadium, and was subsequently awarded UEFA 5 star status. A statue of Rangers captain at the time of the disaster, John Greig, featuring a plaque was later unveiled at the corner of the Bill Struth Main Stand and the Copland Road Stand, the Copland being the scene of the tragedy.
