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Between the 1920s and 1989, the [[football in Scotland|Scottish football]] club [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] had an [[unspoken rule|unwritten rule]] whereby the club would not sign any player who was known to be a [[Roman Catholic]].<ref>{{cite book | first =William | last =Murray | title =The Old Firm: sectarianism, sport, and society in Scotland| publisher = J. Donald Publishers | year = 1984 | isbn =0-85976-121-5}}</ref> This was because Rangers were viewed as a "[[Protestant]] club" and as a deliberate contrast to their [[Old Firm]] rivals, [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] who were viewed as a Catholic club. Rangers' policy was ended in 1989 when they signed [[Mo Johnston]], under manager [[Graeme Souness]]. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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===Origins=== |
===Origins=== |
Revision as of 23:33, 1 January 2021
History
Origins
Prior to the First World War, Rangers did not have any policy regarding players' religion, and at that time the club did have a number of Catholic players.[1] In the 1920s, following the rise in popularity of the Orange Order in Glasgow where Rangers players and directors attended functions,[2] Rangers quietly introduced an unwritten rule that the club would not sign any player or employ any staff member who was openly Catholic.[3][4] An indication that the policy was specifically anti-Catholic rather than Protestant-only was Rangers' signing of Egyptian international Mohamed Latif in 1934.[5]
The policy was not acknowledged publicly until 1965 when Ralph Brand, on leaving the club for Manchester City, told the News of the World that Rangers operated a Protestants-only policy.[6] Two years later vice-chairman Matt Taylor was asked about perceived anti-Catholicism with the ban on Catholics at Rangers; he stated "[it is] part of our tradition ... we were formed in 1873 as a Protestant boys club. To change now would lose us considerable support".[7] Northern Irish club Linfield, which shares a similar culture to Rangers, had a similar policy, though not as strict as Rangers', until the 1980s, as a contrast to their Big Two rivals Glentoran.[8]
Despite the policy, some Catholic players did play for Rangers during this time. Don Kitchenbrand kept his Catholicism secret and Laurie Blyth left the club after his Catholic faith was discovered.[9] Some former Rangers players also stated that the policy extended to non-Catholic players who married Catholics. In 1980, for example, Graham Fyfe said that he had to leave Rangers because he had married a Catholic woman.[10] The former Rangers player and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has written that although Rangers' management knew of his decision to marry a Catholic, he experienced "poisonous hostility" from the club's PR officer Willie Allison.[11]
By contrast, Celtic never had a similar policy banning players of any religion. Celtic manager Jock Stein, himself Celtic's first Protestant manager,[12] once stated that if he was offered a Catholic player and a Protestant player, he would sign the Protestant. When asked why he said: "Because I know Rangers would never sign the Catholic".[13]
In 1976 a friendly at Aston Villa was abandoned because of hooliganism by Rangers fans.[14] This included fans attacking a pub that had been bombed by the IRA three years prior, which drew particular criticism from the Orange Order. The Orange Order stated "Let us be perfectly blunt. The same examples of low animal life who force their support on Glasgow Rangers are one and the same with the foul-mouthed drunks who cause us great embarrassment every July when they turn up to 'support' our annual rallies".[15] In response, the Rangers manager Willie Waddell declared an intent to change the media perception of Rangers being a sectarian club. While he denied the existence of the signing policy, he stated that "no religious barriers will be put up at this club regarding signing of players" and pledged to remove supporters from Ibrox Stadium who did not accept it.[15][16] Despite this assertion, no senior Catholic players were signed by Rangers following it;[15] promising youth player John Spencer did join the club in 1982 and quietly progressed through the ranks, while having to deal with hostility from both sides of the Glasgow religious divide as a result.[17]
1990s onwards
After signing Johnston, Rangers did not sign any further Catholic players for several years. The club did not make another major Scottish Catholic signing until Neil McCann in 1998.[18] In the same year, Rangers lifted a ban on players making the sign of the cross at the behest of Gabriel Amato but warned them not to do it in front of supporters.[19] Gennaro Gattuso, an Italian Catholic who played for Rangers in the 1997–98 season, alleged that his teammates ordered him to take off his crucifix necklace.[20] In 1999, fellow Italian Lorenzo Amoruso became the first Catholic captain of Rangers. In 2002 defender Fernando Ricksen said that Rangers' Catholic players had to hide their religion because of sectarianism at the club. [21] He stated that he had been receiving sectarian phone calls, and "If you're Catholic and you play for Rangers, then you are a Protestant. If you play for the Protestant people, you don't play for the Catholic people."[22]
In 2006, Rangers appointed their first Catholic manager, Paul Le Guen,[23] and in 2013 signed Jon Daly, an Irish Catholic player.[24]
Depictions in the media
The policy was parodied in the BBC comedy Scotch and Wry in 1979, where the Rangers manager (played by Rikki Fulton) unwittingly agrees to sign a young Catholic player (Gerard Kelly), on the recommendation of a Rangers scout (Gregor Fisher).[25] When the player says he had to leave a match early to attend mass, the manager tries to find excuses for voiding the contract to avoid breaking the policy.[25][26]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Murray, William (1984). The Old Firm: sectarianism, sport, and society in Scotland. J. Donald Publishers. p. 82. ISBN 0-85976-121-5.
- ^ Esplin, Ronnie (2011). The Official Biography of Rangers. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-0-7553-6313-1.
- ^ Nauright, John (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-59884-300-2.
- ^ Dunmore, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Scarecrow Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-8108-7188-5.
- ^ Ben Carrington; Ian Mcdonald (2001). 'Race', Sport, and British Society. Psychology Press. p. 38. ISBN 9780415246293. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ Steen, Rob (2014). Floodlights and Touchlines: A History of Spectator Sport. A&C Black. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4081-8137-9.
- ^ "Fran Sandaza interview opens up old wounds of Sectarianism at Rangers". Scotzine. 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
- ^ McKay, Jim; Messner, Michael A.; Donald F., Sabo (2000). Masculinities, gender relations, and sport. SAGE. p. 185. ISBN 0-7619-1272-X.
- ^ Witzig, Richard (2006). The Global Art of Soccer. CusiBoy Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 0-9776688-0-0.
- ^ Murray, Bill (2000). The Old Firm. Edinburgh: John Donald. p. 201. ISBN 0-85976-542-3.
- ^ Ferguson, Alex. 1999 Managing my Life
- ^ "Remembering Jock Stein". BBC Sport. 2005-09-05. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
- ^ Cowley, Jason (2009). The Last Game: Love, Death and Football. Simon and Schuster. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-84737-185-0.
- ^ Bruce, Ian; McDiarmid, Colin; Easton, John (11 October 1976). "Now Rangers face Villa riot probe". The Glasgow Herald. pp. 1 & 3. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Gallagher, Tom (1984). Glasgow, the Uneasy Peace: Religious Tension in Modern Scotland, 1819–1914. Manchester University Press. p. 301. ISBN 0-7190-2396-3.
- ^ MacDermid, Alan (16 October 1976). "Applause as Ibrox opens the doors". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ "John Spencer doubts Rangers' prospective new owner will be able to tackle the club's sectarian rump". The Scotsman. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- ^ "Interview: Neil McCann, football pundit and former player". scotsman.com. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ Romanos, Joseph (2010). Great Sporting Rivals. ReadHowYouWant.com. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-1-4587-7966-3.
- ^ "Rino Gattuso: I used to take potshots at picture of Queen in Rangers dressing room". Daily Record. 4 May 2009.
- ^ Paul Kelbie (2002-12-06). "Scotland tackles its 'secret shame'". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ^ Hello (2002-12-01). "'Real Catholics don't come to Rangers' claims Ibrox star". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
- ^ Forsyth, Roddy (5 January 2007). "Le Guen's French revolution comes to a messy end". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ Forsyth, Paul (26 May 2013). "Jon Daly on being an Irish Catholic Rangers player". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ a b "This Week's Highlights. Scotland: BBC weeks 51 and 52" (PDF). BBC. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
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(help) - ^ Old Firm Facts on football's greatest sitcom moments, Glasgow Live, 6 April 2018