The 1987–88 season was the 91st season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in Scotland.

Notable events

Billy McNeill's second spell back in charge of Celtic began in style as they finished the season by winning the double of the league title and Scottish Cup. The cup triumph was sealed with two late goals from

Frank McAvennie Francis McAvennie (born 22 November 1959) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a striker for St Mirren, West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with each of these clubs. With Celtic he won the Scottish Premier Division in ...

, signed in early October from

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, as they had trailed 1–0 to Dundee United. Rangers, further strengthened with the signing of Englishmen

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

and

Mark Walters Mark Everton Walters (born 2 June 1964) is an English former professional footballer who made 600 league appearances between 1981 and 2002. A midfielder, Walters played top-flight football for Aston Villa, Liverpool and Southampton in Englan ...

in midfield, had consolation for their failure to repeat title glory in the shape of a League Cup win. They could only finish third in the league, with Hearts finishing second – 10 points adrift of champions Celtic. The

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

league fixture at Ibrox in October 1987, which ended in a 2–2 draw, saw three players red carded. Charges were later brought against four of the players (three from Rangers, one from Celtic) by the Procurator Fiscal. The resulting Court case ended up with

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...

and

Chris Woods Christopher Charles Eric Woods (born 14 November 1959) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is goalkeeping coach for the Scotland national team. As a player, he was a goalkeeper who played in the Football Leag ...

being convicted of a breach of the peace.

Graham Roberts Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959) is an English retired footballer and manager who played as a defender for numerous clubs including Tottenham Hotspur (where he won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup), Rangers (where he won the Scottish League ...

was found

Not proven Not proven (, ) is a verdict available to a Courts of Scotland, court of law in Scotland. Under Scots law, a Criminal procedure, criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts, one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal ("not proven" and ...

, whilst

was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. Rangers enjoyed the longest run in Europe out of all the Scottish clubs, reaching the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

quarter finals where they were edged out by Steaua Bucharest. A reduction of the Premier Division from 12 clubs to 10 saw three clubs (Falkirk, Dunfirmline Athletic and Morton) relegated. The only promotion place went to Division One champions Hamilton Academical.

Scottish Premier Division

Champions: Celtic
Relegated: Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, Morton

Scottish League Division One

Promoted: Hamilton Academical
Relegated: East Fife, Dumbarton

Scottish League Division Two

Promoted: Ayr United, St Johnstone

Other honours

Cup honours

Non-league honours

Senior

Individual honours

Scottish clubs in Europe

Results for Scotland's participants in European competition for the 1987–88 season

Rangers

St Mirren

Aberdeen

Celtic

Dundee United

Scotland national team

Key: *(H) = Home match *(A) = Away match *ECQG7 = European Championship qualifying – Group 7

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 in Scottish football Seasons in Scottish football