Rangers vs. Celtic Soccer Match

Leave it to the Glasgow boys to take over Scotland.

First contested in what was reported as a friendly match on May 28, 1888, these two teams have been at it for years now. Rangers and Celtic games and associated revenues are estimated to be worth approximately £120 million to the Scottish economy annually. The two clubs have supporters around the world, but none so fierce as those in Glasgow.

Disputes between the teams are settled on the field. The fans, however, have a history of sectarian violence that transcends football and reaches into Catholic versus Protestant, Loyalist and Republican (Northern Irish Politics), and is manifested in a lasting enmity between the two camps.

Rangers fans are oft of the Protestant persuasion, while Celtic fans tend to be of the Catholic extraction, though neither exclusively so, and the two sides like to sing the according songs and fly the associated flags. This often leads violent enthusiasm – so much so that the camps are separated by a buffer zone at matches.