The 2002–03 Scottish Premier League (known as the 2002–03
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...
Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
(SPL), the top level of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
in Scotland. It began on 3 August 2002 and concluded on 25 May 2003.
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
were the defending champions, but were beaten to the title by
Rangers on the final day of the season.
This was Rangers'
50th Scottish league title.
Both clubs went into the final matchday on the same number of points and with the same goal difference – Rangers were ahead in the table having scored more goals. On the final day, Rangers beat
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
6–1 at
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...
while Celtic could only win 4–0 at
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
, meaning Rangers won the title by a goal difference of one more than Celtic. This was the closest finish in the history of the SPL.
Changes from 2001–02 season
Broadcasting rights
Between
1998–99 and
2001–02, exclusive television rights for live Scottish Premier League matches were held by
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
. In January 2002, the SPL rejected a £45 million offer from Sky Sports and began considering setting up its own pay-per-view channel, dubbed "SPL TV".
However, these plans broke down in April 2002 when the Old Firm clubs – Rangers and Celtic – utilised the 11–1 voting system to veto the proposals.
This caused discontent among the remaining ten SPL clubs, which subsequently announced their intention to resign from the league.
Despite a two-year television deal being agreed with
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
in July 2002 for a significant amount less than previously offered by Sky Sports,
the ten non-Old Firm clubs confirmed their resignation from the SPL in August 2002, citing discontent with the voting system.
The ten clubs withdrew their resignations in January 2003 after an agreement was reached to change some of the voting procedures and to change the distribution of TV revenue.
The withdrawal of Sky Sports' interest in the league caused several clubs to experience financial problems, with
Hearts and
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
announcing debts of £3.8 million and £3.5 million, respectively,
and Rangers' debt reportedly rising to £77 million.
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
seemed to be affected immediately by the lack of income, entering this season in
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
and releasing 19 of their playing staff at the end of the previous season.
European berths
Results in European competition over the previous five years saw the league move up from 16th to 12th in the
UEFA country coefficient
In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments (country rankings only), ...
ranking. This meant that the league earned a second berth in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
qualifying rounds for the following season.
Teams
Twelve clubs would compete in the league this season – the top 11 clubs of the
previous season, and the champions of the
2001–02 First Division.
St Johnstone were relegated to the
First Division after five seasons in the top league on 6 April 2002, a draw with
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
leaving them 14 points adrift at the bottom with only 4 matches left to play.
They were replaced by
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
, the champions of the First Division. They secured their second successive promotion and a place in the top flight with a victory over
St Mirren on 13 April 2002.
This would be their debut season in the SPL and their first season in the top league since the
1995–96 season.
Stadia and locations
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
Overview
2002–03 was a successful season for
Rangers, who won a
domestic treble
A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...
. They and
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
competed in a very closely fought title race. Rangers were five points clear of Celtic at the time of the split,
but a Celtic victory in the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
derby
and Rangers dropping further points against
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
in the following match
left the rivals level on points and on goal difference going into the final day of the season; Rangers were only ahead having scored 95 goals to Celtic's 94. On the final day, Rangers beat
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
6–1 at
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...
while Celtic could only win 4–0 at
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
,
Victory not enough for Celtic
BBC Sport, 25 May 2003 meaning Rangers won the title by a goal difference of one more than Celtic (a stoppage-time penalty made the outcome more secure for Rangers – they would still have won at 5–1 by the margin of two more goals scored, but until that point Celtic would have claimed the title by goal difference had they scored again). This was the closest finish in the history of the SPL. Celtic striker Chris Sutton sparked controversy by accusing the Dunfermline players of "lying down" to allow Rangers to win the title, a comment which sparked a furious response and the threat of legal action from Dunfermline. Celtic had a more successful season in Europe, reaching the 2003 UEFA Cup Final, but eventually lost to Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
after extra-time in Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, just four days before the final match of the league season. However, it would ultimately be the first season of Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...
's reign which ended without a trophy for Celtic.
Hearts qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Cup
The 2003–04 UEFA Cup was won by Valencia in the final against Marseille. It wrapped up a league and UEFA Cup double for Valencia.
Porto could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and a ...
after finishing third in the league, but finished 34 points behind the Old Firm. Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
also qualified for the UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
in Jim Duffy's first season in charge by reaching the 2003 Scottish Cup Final, despite losing the final to Rangers.
In the bottom half of the table, Eddie Thompson took over as chairman of Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
but it would statistically be the club's worst season since World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
at that point, with the team finishing 11th in the league, and sacking two managers. They spent the season in a battle with Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
to avoid finishing bottom of the league. Following their entry into administration at the end of the previous season, Motherwell released 19 players before this season and struggled throughout the season, eventually being confirmed as the bottom team on 17 May 2003, following a 3–2 defeat to Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
.
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
became champions of the First Division in April 2003, but their Brockville Park stadium did not have the SPL minimum required 10,000 seats, a problem which prevented their possible promotion to the league only three seasons earlier. With plans to demolish the stadium and build a new stadium, Falkirk proposed a ground-share of Airdrie United
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Clu ...
's Excelsior Stadium
The Excelsior Stadium, officially The Albert Bartlett Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...
. On 23 May 2003, the twelve members of the SPL voted against admitting Falkirk to the league. After a lengthy appeals process with the Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
, including a situation where the following season's fixture list was released and the draw for the 2003–04 Scottish Challenge Cup
The 2003–04 Scottish Challenge Cup was the 13th season of the competition, competed for by all 30 members of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were Queen of the South, who defeated Brechin City 2–0 in the 2002 final. Qu ...
was made without knowing all of the participants (the fixture list and cup draw referring to Motherwell or Falkirk's place as "Club X"), it was confirmed that Falkirk would not be accepted into the SPL, sparing Motherwell from relegation.
Format
In the initial phase of the season, each of the twelve teams play the other eleven teams three times. After 33 rounds, the league splits into two sections, a top six and a bottom six, with each team playing all the other teams in their section once. The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section have played each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible. A total of 228 matches will be played, with 38 matches played by each team.
League table
Results
Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
Matches 23–33
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
Matches 34–38
During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once.
Top six
Bottom six
Top scorers
Source
SPL official website
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Attendances
The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2002/03 season are shown below:
Source
/small>
Monthly awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League seasons
1
Scot
Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...