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Between the 1920s and 1989, Scottish association football club Rangers F.C. had an unwritten rule whereby the club would not sign any player who was a known Roman Catholic. This was because Rangers were viewed as a "Protestant club" and as a deliberate contrast to their Old Firm rivals, Celtic who were viewed as a Catholic club. The policy was ended in 1989 by Rangers manager Graeme Souness when he signed Mo Johnston.
Contents
History
Prior to the First World War, Rangers did not have any policy regarding religion dictating if they could be signed or not. Prior to the war, Rangers did have a number of Catholic players. In the 1920s, following the rise in popularity of the Orange Order in Glasgow where Rangers players and directors attended functions, Rangers quietly introduced an unwritten rule that the club would not sign any player or employ any staff member who was openly Catholic. The policy was kept a secret within Rangers until 1965 when Ralph Brand revealed to the News of the World that Rangers operated a Protestants-only policy when he left them for Manchester City. Two years later vice-chairman Matt Taylor was asked about perceived anti-Catholicism with the "No Catholic" signing policy at Rangers, he stated "[it is] part of our tradition ... we were formed in 1873 as a Protestant boys club. To change now would lose us considerable support". The policy was mirrored by Northern Irish club Linfield, who shares a similar club culture to Rangers, up until the 1980s as a contrast to their Big Two rivals Glentoran though it was not as strict as Rangers'. Some Catholic players did play for Rangers during this time despite the policy with Don Kitchenbrand keeping his Catholicism secret and Laurie Blyth, who left the club after his Catholic faith was discovered. There were also claims by some former Rangers players that the policy extended to non-Catholic players who married Catholics. However the former Rangers player and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, himself married to a Catholic, confirmed that marriage to a Catholic was not a part of the signing policy to exclude players.
Celtic on the other hand never had a similar policy banning Protestant players. However until 1992, all of their directors were Catholics. Celtic manager Jock Stein (himself Celtic's first Protestant manager after Celtic had only appointed Catholics prior) once stated that if he was offered a Catholic player and a Protestant player, he would sign the Protestant. When asked why he said: "Because I know Rangers would never sign the Catholic".
Abolition
In 1976 a friendly at Aston Villa was abandoned owing to hooliganism. This included Rangers fans attacking a pub that had been bombed by the IRA three years prior, which drew particular criticism from the Orange Order in newspapers. The Orange Order stated "How many of us saw the cruel irony in the fate of the Tavern on the Town public house – the one bombed three years ago by the IRA – smashed and devastated by the crazed minds who sang Orange songs. Let us be perfectly blunt. The same examples of low animal life who force their support on Glasgow Rangers are one and the same with the foul-mouthed drunks who cause us great embarrassment every July when they turn up to 'support' our annual rallies". In response, the Rangers manager Willie Waddell declared an intent to change the media perception of Rangers being a sectarian club. While he denied the existence of the signing policy, he stated that "no religious barriers will be put up at this club regarding signing of players" and pledged to remove supporters from Ibrox Stadium who did not accept it. Despite this, no Catholic players were signed by Rangers following it.
In 1986, Graeme Souness became manager and declared his intent to build a team based on merit rather than relying on personal restrictions. A year later he signed Rangers' first black player Mark Walters. In 1989, Souness signed Mo Johnston, a former Celtic player and openly Catholic. This was Rangers' first signing of an openly Catholic player since the unwritten policy was introduced, though there had been claims in the media that it was done to counter a FIFA inquiry into Old Firm sectarianism. At a press conference following his signing, the English Rangers players attended however the Scottish players boycotted it. The chairman of the Rangers Supporters Association stated "It's a sad day for Rangers, there will be a lot of people handing back their season tickets. I don't want to see a Roman Catholic at Ibrox. Rangers have always stood for one thing and the majority of the support have been brought up with the idea of a true blue Rangers team." As he predicted, Rangers fans responded by burning their season tickets; Celtic supporters claimed Johnston had betrayed Catholicism, calling him "Judas". The Rangers kitman refused to lay out Johnston's kit before each match as a protest against a Catholic playing for Rangers.
Despite signing Johnston, several tenets of the original policy still officially remained in place as Rangers did not attempt to sign any further Catholic players for the next few years and because the media had branded Johnston as a "card-carrying Catholic". The club did not make another major Scottish Catholic signing until Neil McCann in 1998. In the same year, Rangers lifted a ban on players making the sign of the cross at the behest of Gabriel Amato but warned them not to do it in front of supporters. In 1999, Lorenzo Amoruso became the first Catholic captain of Rangers. However, in 2002 defender Fernando Ricksen, who had been receiving sectarian phone calls from Celtic supporters, stated "If you're Catholic and you play for Rangers, then you are a Protestant. If you play for the Protestant people, you don't play for the Catholic people."
Depictions in the media
The policy was parodied in the BBC comedy Scotch and Wry where the Rangers chairman unknowingly signed a Catholic and tried to void the contract to avoid publicly breaking the policy.