Celtic FC Scarf

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Shankly and Stein’s teams were built for the people. The latter’s 1967 European Cup-winning side consisted almost entirely of players from Glasgow. The James Bond star was snapped hand-in-hand with Scottish actor and film producer Gianni Capaldi as the pair beamed for the camera ahead of Celtic's league match against Motherwell today. Ian St John, born in Motherwell, scored the goal which won Liverpool their first-ever FA Cup in 1965 against Don Revie’s formidable Leeds. The trophy success meant that the Reds qualified for the next season’s Cup Winners’ Cup. There are plenty of Protestants who follow Celtic home and away. Dalglish and former captain Scott Brown, along with nearly half of Celtic’s great Lisbon Lions were born Protestant.

Liverpool had beaten Standard Liege, Budapest Honvéd and a strong Juventus team to reach the semis. They would be facing Celtic for the first time in the club’s history. A solitary home goal, scored by the legendary outside left, Bobby Lennox, left Shankly’s side with work to do in the return leg at Anfield. When Labour’s long-established ‘red wall’ fell in the 2019 General Election, it only added to the detachment. The North’s major cities still voted Labour, but they were surrounded by a sea of blue that flooded former mill towns and mining communities. I think I was seven at the time and I think a large section of the Celtic support, especially my age, share my view but not all. I know quite a few Celtic fans who prefer Man Utd and also some Everton to a lesser extent. Crucial member of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Prof. Phil Scraton, who views Celtic as his second club and once turned down an OBE, was fresh out of the seminary and witnessed the Glaswegians’ hospitality first-hand. He remembered: “I said to my mum I was going to go to the final and she said: ‘You can’t do that; it’s going to be dreadful’. I was determined to do it.There are still ongoing sectarian splits but gone are the days when Rangers would refuse to sign players because they heralded from a Catholic family. In 2018, renowned commentator Clive Tyldesley told Off the Ball that European fixtures at Celtic Park and Anfield were different to elsewhere: “I think there are certain atmospheres abroad that are just different. I remember the day Liverpool signed him and our neighbour told me. At first, I said I didn’t believe him then I said I was going to follow Liverpool. He told me that he was going to tell my dad and I told him I was only joking.

The Scotsman would go on to be the first of the six players or managers who would have their testimonial between Liverpool and Celtic. On the other hand, just two testimonials have been held between Rangers and Liverpool. Liverpool had just won the European Cup, but Kevin Keegan had left for Hamburger SV and they needed a new talisman. Countless intertwining factors have come together to culminate in the relationship present today, however, the roots of most of them are entrenched in the cities’ ports. Fifteen days after the tragedy, Celtic hosted a friendly between themselves and Liverpool. The memorial match served to raise money for the families affected but it also showed solidarity with the Liverpool fans who were being blamed for the events in Sheffield.Many went on to make the perilous journey to America, but it’s estimated that up to a quarter of them remained on Merseyside instead. Such a large volume stayed, it’s thought up to 75 percent of Liverpool’s population could have some form of Irish ancestry. In 1989, Dalglish was in his twelfth year at Liverpool. His playing credentials translated to the manager’s position and his team were flying high. Then Hillsborough happened. The various supporters clubs in Glasgow opened their doors to the Liverpool fans. The coaches got there early enough and were welcomed by Celtic supporters, then they laid on food and drinks. They were very generous. We didn’t have that much time by the time we got up there, but it was a real act of generosity.” The ballad, set during the Irish famine which triggered mass emigration, was adapted in 1996 by a Red named Gary Ferguson. By percentage, the Archdiocese of Liverpool is the by far the most Catholic part of England, Scotland or Wales, even dwarfing Glasgow’s numbers. It’s only a small part of it, but the strong Irish Catholic presence on Merseyside has fed into the disdain that some right-winger factions seem to have for Liverpool.