Forty years ago, this weekend, Hibernian and Rangers met in the opening game of season 1986-87.
The first clash of the new campaign would have been a highly anticipated affair in any event. But given it was the first match since Graeme Souness had arrived at Ibrox as player-manager, the eyes of Britain were on it.
It proved to be a true powderkeg occasion, a game so infamous that it immediately took its place in Scottish football’s hall of shame.
Here, as the sides prepare to meet again at Ibrox four decades on, Daily Mail Sport recalls the most extraordinary curtain raiser in living memory.
REVOLUTION IN THE AIR
Scottish football was shaken to its core when news broke in the April of that year that Souness was on his way to Glasgow from Sampdoria after striking a deal with ambitious chairman David Holmes.
Then aged 33, the former Liverpool captain was to be Rangers’ first player-manager, but his presence on the field was only one of the reasons why Rangers fans stopped in their tracks.
Graeme Souness was all smiles as he breezed into Scottish football with Rangers in 1986
Seemingly armed with an open cheque book, and with English clubs then banned from playing in Europe, the legendary Scotland midfielder set about persuading established England internationals to sign for the club.
Terry Butcher and Chris Woods were unveiled after shelling out huge fees and there was the promise of much more to come. Colin West, a highly rated striker, joined them from Norwich.
Without a league title since 1978, it was clear that Rangers were going to spend big to try and bring back the glory days.
The fans immediately bought into Souness – revelling in the success he’d known at Liverpool and admiring the swagger with which he walked into the press room on the day he was confirmed. The first test for the new regime would take place in Leith.
FIRST SHOT FIRED IN FEBRILE ATMOSPHERE
It would be a gross understatement to suggest that the feeling in and around the ground was intense that day. Some 24,576 fans crammed into the old Easter Road, most craning their necks for a view on the old sun-kissed terraces.
Under the watch of John Blackley, Hibernian were looking to improve upon the eighth-place finish from the previous year. They’d sold Gordon Durie to Chelsea for £400,000 and reinvested the money to sign Billy Kirkwood, Stuart Beedie, Willie Irvine and George McCluskey.
Graeme Souness is confronted by angry Hibernian players after his tackle on McCluskey
Hibs edged the opening exchanges and went ahead in 15 minutes when Butcher lost his footing in a tussle with Steve Cowan. Cowan’s cross was met at the far post by Beedie, who slammed the ball home low in front of the stunned visiting supporters.
‘What a waste of money,’ the home fans sang scornfully at Rangers’ big-money buys.
But Souness’s men soon levelled with Ally McCoist netting a penalty he’d won after going down theatrically under pressure from Gordon Chisholm.
MAYHEM ERUPTS
With tempers starting to fray, Kirkwood controlled a headed clearance from Ally Dawson and tried to side-step Souness. ‘A dreadful late tackle,’ opined STV match commentator Jock Brown. Despite Hibs wanting more, match referee Mike Delaney flashed only a yellow card.
Moments later, Souness motored up the field but was tackled by Beedie. With both sides contesting the loose ball, the Rangers manager flew high and two-footed into McCluskey on the halfway line. A game which had been simmering from the outset suddenly came to the boil. It was complete chaos.
For a few seconds, every player – aside from home keeper Alan Rough – came together in the centre circle, pushing, shoving and exchanging insults. Mark Fulton hit the deck after a collision with West.
McCluskey displays his wounded leg to his assailant Souness as he is helped from the field
‘This is an aspect of the Scottish game with which Graeme Souness may not be familiar,’ added Brown.
‘He is in the heart of it. Chris Woods wants to take his own kind of action. This is a dreadful scene inside Easter Road…’
As Souness was shown a straight red on the 37th minute, the Hibs supporters went wild as McCluskey pointed out the damage which had been inflicted to his leg as he made his way to the sidelines.
HIBS HAVE THEIR DAY IN THE SUN
Despite the flashpoint with Fulton being seen by a linesman, West escaped with a booking.
Irvine, the former Stirling Albion striker, replaced McCluskey.
An already spicy game threatened to get completely out of control with borderline challenges seen all over the pitch.
With Walter Smith, Souness’s assistant, unable to make his instructions heard amid the din, Rangers were disorganised and hanging on as half-time approached.
Kirkwood took full advantage, striding forward ahead of a backtracking McCoist to feed Irvine. His deep cross evaded Woods and saw Cowan move in ahead of a statuesque Stuart Munro to knock Hibs’ second into an empty net.
Souness pleads his innocence to referee Mike Delaney as all hell breaks loose around him
Despite their depleted numbers, Rangers fashioned enough chances to equalise but neither West, McCoist or Butcher took them.
With Souness now watching from the director’s box, a second half which was rather less frantic ended with the home side doing enough to secure the points. The final crime count was seven yellow cards and one red.
THE REPERCUSSIONS
The SFA retrospectively gave 21 players yellow cards for their part in the melee with only Rough excused as he’d remained in his penalty box. However, both McCluskey and Fulton successfully appealed against their cautions.
Edinburgh-born Souness would later speak of his shame at his father being present at the match.
‘I wish I could go through it all again but with a different outcome — like trying to stay on the pitch a little bit longer,’ he said this week.
‘But there was only one person to blame for that and that was me. Guilty!
‘Actually, I also blame Walter. It was all his fault! As I’m going out, he said to me, “I meant to tell you, they’ve got a guy called Billy Kirkwood and if he gets the chance, he’ll leave a foot in!”.
Souness wasted no time in stamping his mark on the Scottish game as season 1986/87 began
‘I was walking out, following the others and looking over my shoulder. I shouted, “What number is he?”. But he couldn’t tell me.
‘When I went on the pitch there were ten Kirkys out there!
‘I only ever got sent off once in England at senior level, playing for Middlesbrough, so I wasn’t a serial red card offender. I should have got more than one, but that’s another story…’
DIFFERENT ENDINGS
If ever an opening game was a poor indicator of what was to come, then this was it.
Despite getting off to a flying start, Hibs didn’t win any of their next eight league games. With the side threatened with relegation, Blackley quit in November with Alex Miller replacing him. They’d end up ninth.
Rangers beat Falkirk the following week but then lost to Dundee United. By the end of the season, though, Souness had achieved what he’d set out to do – lifting the title by drawing 1-1 at Aberdeen on May 2 – with the trophy taking pride of place beside the League Cup.
