Graeme Souness was sent off on his debut as Rangers player-manager during a 2-1 defeat against Hibernian at Easter Road in the opening game of the 1986-87 season. The match, which took place 40 years ago this weekend, marked the first competitive fixture since Souness arrived at Ibrox. Britain watched as the encounter descended into chaos, earning a spot in Scottish football's hall of shame as both teams prepare to meet again at Ibrox four decades on.
News broke in April 1986 that the 33-year-old former Liverpool captain was moving to Glasgow from Sampdoria after agreeing to a deal with ambitious Rangers chairman David Holmes. Souness became the first player-manager in the history of Rangers, arriving with a reputation from his successful years at Liverpool and showing swagger when entering the press room on the day of his confirmation.
With English clubs banned from European competition, Souness seemed to hold an open chequebook and persuaded established England international players to move north. Rangers unveiled defender Terry Butcher and goalkeeper Chris Woods for large transfer fees, alongside striker Colin West from Norwich, as the club sought its first league title since 1978.
High Tension at Easter Road
A crowd of 24,576 spectators packed into old Easter Road on a sun-kissed day, with many craning their necks from the terraces. Hibernian manager John Blackley aimed to improve on an eighth-place finish from the previous season after selling Gordon Durie to Chelsea for £400,000. Hibernian reinvested those funds to sign Billy Kirkwood, Stuart Beedie, Willie Irvine, and George McCluskey.
Hibernian controlled the opening period and scored in the 15th minute when Butcher lost his footing during a battle with Steve Cowan. Cowan delivered a cross to the far post, where Beedie drove a low shot past Woods into the net to shock the visiting supporters.
Home supporters mocked the new signings by chanting, "What a waste of money." Rangers equalised soon after when Ally McCoist scored a penalty after going down theatrically under a challenge from Gordon Chisholm.
Tempers flared as Kirkwood controlled a headed clearance from Ally Dawson and attempted to turn past Souness. Souness delivered what STV match commentator Jock Brown described as "a dreadful late tackle," but referee Mike Delaney issued only a yellow card despite protests from Hibernian players.
Chaos and Red Card on the Halfway Line
Moments later, Souness ran upfield but was tackled by Beedie. As both sides contested the loose ball, the Rangers player-manager launched high and two-footed into McCluskey on the halfway line.
The match immediately erupted into complete chaos. Every player except Hibernian goalkeeper Alan Rough converged in the centre circle to push, shove, and trade insults, while Mark Fulton hit the ground following a collision with West.
"This is an aspect of the Scottish game with which Graeme Souness may not be familiar," Brown said during the broadcast. "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..."
Referee Delaney showed Souness a straight red card in the 37th minute, prompting wild celebrations from the home crowd. As McCluskey was helped off the field, he pointed out the injury on his leg to Souness.
Hibernian Take Advantage Before Half-Time
Linesman assistance helped West escape with a yellow card for his incident with Fulton. Former Stirling Albion striker Irvine entered the match to replace the injured McCluskey.
Rangers assistant manager Walter Smith could not make his instructions heard above the crowd noise, leaving his team disorganized as half-time approached. Kirkwood carried the ball forward past a backtracking McCoist and passed to Irvine.
Irvine delivered a deep cross that flew over Woods, allowing Cowan to get ahead of Stuart Munro and tap the ball into an empty net for Hibernian's second goal.
With Souness watching from the director's box, Rangers created second-half scoring opportunities through West, McCoist, and Butcher, but failed to convert them. Hibernian held on during a calmer second half to secure the victory, bringing the final tally to seven yellow cards and one red card.
Mass Disciplinary Action and Souness Reaction
The Scottish Football Association retrospectively issued yellow cards to 21 players for participating in the brawl, leaving Rough as the only player unpunished because he stayed in his penalty area. McCluskey and Fulton later won their appeals against the retroactive cautions.
Souness, who was born in Edinburgh, admitted feeling shame because his father was watching in the crowd. "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," Souness said. "But there was only one person to blame for that and that was me. Guilty!"
Souness joked about the warnings he received from his assistant before the game. "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!'. 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!"
Souness added that his disciplinary record in England had been clean. "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..."
Contrast in Season Outcomes
The opening match proved unrepresentative of how the remainder of the 1986-87 season unfolded for both clubs. Hibernian failed to win any of their next eight league matches and faced a relegation threat, leading Blackley to resign in November before Alex Miller took charge to guide them to a ninth-place finish.
Rangers responded by defeating Falkirk the following week before losing to Dundee United. Souness completed his target on May 2 by securing a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen to win the Scottish league title alongside the League Cup.
