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Celtic vs Rangers: All You Need to Know About the Old Firm Game

The Celtic vs Rangers rivalry is one of the biggest rivalries in the world of football. Here’s all you need to know about the Old Firm derby. 

The Celtic vs Rangers Hatred

Celtic FC vs Rangers FC lineups are hotly anticipated before release. Glasgow is lit up by the emerald green of Celtic, and royal blue of Rangers, with both Scottish giants among the most prestigious football clubs in the world.

Known as the Old Firm, Celtic and Rangers compete in one of the fiercest local rivalries in the world. The Old Firm game is so embedded into Scottish culture, its created social, political, religious and sectarian divides.

The Celtic vs Rangers game has created a history of disorder between fans which has led to major changes.

Following the 1980 Scottish Cup Final, the ensuing Hampden riots led to the ban of alcohol being served in Scottish football stadiums for over 40 years.

It also led to the impossibility of an Old Firm game deciding a title. 

What Religion Are Celtic and Rangers?

Celtic vs Rangers are one of the biggest rivals because of religion. Rangers are built with a Protestant history whereas Celtic’s roots are built upon Catholic Church foundations. 

This is where the Old Firm game gets a lot of it’s passion and hatred from. A Glasgow City Council report on sectarianism found that 74% of Celtic fans identified as Catholic, and only 10% were Protestant. Rangers fans in comparison identified as 65% Protestant and 2% Catholic.

Celtic vs Rangers Sectarianism

Religion aside, another huge reason Celtic vs. Rangers causes a stir is because traditionally, native and Ulster Scots make up most of the Rangers fan base, and Celtic fans are mostly Catholic-Irish immigrants. 

The Old Firm game is further fuelled by Rangers fans traditionally being pro-British and often displaying the Union Flag, whereas Celtic fans often show the Irish tricolours. 

Celtic vs Rangers rivalry is split even further as a result of Ireland-Northern Ireland relations. One of the most significant causes of the divide was caused in 1912 when Northern Irish company Harland & Wolff opened a shipyard in Glasgow.

The location of Rangers was closest to the shipyard and the company had anti-Catholic hiring practices, with many workers being Ulster Protestants of Scottish descent. 

Catholic-Irish immigrants from the east end of Glasgow, who were mostly impoverished, grew discontent and it created even more tension in the Old Firm game rivalry.

Despite Celtic vs Rangers being a Scottish rivalry, the Old Firm game is fierce and intense in Northern Ireland, where it’s advised not to wear a Celtic jersey in Protestant Loyalist areas of Belfast.

In reverse it’s advised to avoid wearing a Rangers shirt in Catholic Republican areas. 

Celtic vs Rangers: Who is Bigger?

The Old Firm clubs have won more than 85% of all Scottish league titles, and Celtic vs Rangers is worth at least £120m a year to the Scottish economy. 

Many people across the UK and Ireland are supporters of either Celtic or Rangers above even their own local teams based on political and religious views.

Rangers are more successful on the field, although that gap has closed considerably in recent times. The reality is the Old Firm game benefits both clubs making both Celtic and Rangers bigger in world football. 

Whenever there are talks of a reformed British Super League it usually involves Celtic and Rangers joining other Premier League teams. 

Former Rangers’ striker Kris Boyd believes that the only clubs in the Premier League bigger than Rangers are Manchester United and Liverpool. 

Who Has More Fans: Celtic vs Rangers

In terms of Old Firm game attendances, Celtic has more fans than Rangers with Celtic averaging crowds of almost 58,000, and Rangers just under 50,000. 

When taking into consideration the capacity of Celtic Park and Ibrox Stadium, Rangers’ matchday attendances reached 97% capacity compared to Celtic’s 96%.

Rangers are considered to be more popular in the UK. Celtic in comparison are traditionally seen as being more popular worldwide, but that depends on the data you look at.

Why Is It Called the Old Firm Game?

Celtic vs Rangers is known as the “Old Firm”, which is a name that’s thought to have originated from a cartoon in a magazine called The Scottish Referee, published when both teams met in the 1904 Scottish Cup Final. 

The satirical cartoon read ‘Patronise The Old Firm’, which was referencing the ‘rivalry’ that was said to have been invented as the two clubs were getting along with each other at the time. There were no sectarian divides during this period.

It’s also been said that a commentator in an early Celtic vs Rangers match referred to the clubs as ‘like two old, firm friends’ which is another potential reason for the Old Firm derby name originating. 

Celtic vs Rangers Threat

Between 1996 and 2003 there have been an estimated eight deaths and thousands of assaults linked directly to the Old Firm game. 

Celtic and Rangers have continued to distance themselves from their sectarian histories and have clamped down on fan violence. 

The Old Firm game has led to actions such as the banning of alcohol at Scottish football stadiums and the avoidance of an Old Firm game title decider being deliberately avoided. 

Recently the biggest threat to the Old Firm derby was the demise and ultimate bankruptcy of Rangers under its former corporate identity of Rangers Football Club plc. 

Poor decisions and dodgy deals led to the club entering liquidation by 2012 owing at least £55 million to various creditors, as well as £79 million in unpaid taxes. Rangers would enter the fourth-tier of Scottish football in the 2012-13 season and would return in time for the 2016-17 season.


Between 2012 and 2016 it would be a four-year journey for Rangers to rejoin the Scottish Premiership with the league essentially uncontested for Celtic during this period.

The 2016-17 season would see the Celtic vs Rangers fixture back on the calendar, with the Old Firm game reborn at league football level. 

Footballers Who Played for Both Celtic and Rangers

Crossing the Old Firm divide is seen as a cardinal sin. The Rangers even had an unspoken transfer policy of not signing Roman Catholic players, a seven decade long policy broken in 1989 with the signing of striker Mo Johnston.

Here are some of the best players that have played for both Celtic and Rangers:

  • Mo Johnstone
  • Kenny Miller
  • Alfie Conn Jr
  • Steven Pressley
  • Mark Brown

Matt Ieriko

Matt Ieriko is a freelance writer who’s evolved his lifelong passion for sport into the creation of WolfgangSport.com in 2020 – an American sports blog covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and more. As an Australian, he’s always been fascinated with the cultural differences and global significance of sports in America.

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