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1971 · 66 Lives LostFootball stadium · Glasgow, Scotland Lesson 2 of 15
Ibrox (1971): Case Study & Safety Analysis
A last-minute goal sent fans surging back up the exit stairs - straight into the people still leaving.
Background & Historical Context
The Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic is one of football's fiercest rivalries, rooted in Glasgow's religious and cultural divides. Huge, passionate, overwhelmingly male crowds packed standing terraces — the norm in British football then — and surged together in the emotional final moments of the match.
Why this incident matters to event managers today:Almost everyone who dies in a crowd crush dies standing up, from compressive asphyxia — their chest is squeezed so hard it can't expand to breathe. It is not 'trampling', and it is not a 'stampede'. Understanding this changes everything about how you prevent it: the enemy is density and pressure, not panic.
Ibrox
Football stadium · Glasgow, Scotland · 1971
66 lives lost
A last-minute goal sent fans surging back up the exit stairs - straight into the people still leaving.
Next Case Study Lesson
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