SCOTTISH DEFEATS IN EURO SEMI-FINALS
EUROPEAN CUP 1955-56: Hibernian v Reims (0-3 on agg)
The first British club to compete in the new tournament (despite finishing fifth in the league), Hibs acquitted themselves with distinction. They overcame West Germans Rot-weiss Essen and Swedish side Djurgardens, before French champions Reims with fabled performers Michel Hidalgo and Raymond Kopa - proved too strong, winning 2-0 at home and 1-0 win in Leith. 1959-60: Rangers v Eintracht Frankfurt (4-12 on agg)
The humbling the Ibrox side suffered at the hands of the Germans remains their biggest losing margin in a twolegged European tie. A play-off win at Highbury over Sparta Rotterdam set them up for a first semi-final that turned sour when they conceded five second-half goals to lose 6-1 in Frankfurt, before conceding six again in a 6-3 loss at Ibrox. 1963: Dundee v AC Milan (2-5 on agg)
The first of the many dodgy defeats that have befallen Scottish sides, the Spanish referee Vicente Caballero who took charge of their 5-1 defeat in the Italian first leg was given a “gift” by the hosts and later investigated for alleged bribery. Dundee restored pride with a winner from a later redcarded Alan Gilzean at Dens. 1972: Celtic v Inter (0-0 on agg, lost 4-5 on pens)
Celtic’s bid for a third European Cup final appearance in five years was ended in agonising fashion. After the teams could not be separated across 210 minutes of football, Dixie Deans, right, ballooned his penalty over the bar. All others were netted, leaving Deans the fall guy. 1973-74: Celtic v Atletico Madrid (0-2 on agg)
The Parkhead first leg earned the tag ‘night of a thousand kicks’ as the Spanish side dish out brutality that brought three red cards but the desired scoreless draw. A free-forall punch-up at full-time saw police wade in and Uefa banned six Atletico players from the second leg. A clearly spooked Celtic lost 2-0 in Spain. 1983-84: Dundee United v Roma (2-3 on agg)
In the history of dirty tricks played against Scottish clubs in Europe, Jim Mclean’s men suffered one of the muckiest against the Italians who they beat 2-0 in the Tannadice first leg. Crazed hosts, allegedly abetted by a £50,000 bribe for French referee Michel Vautrot, succeeded in claiming the 3-0 win they required in Rome. CUP-WINNERS’ CUP 1964: Celtic v MTK Budapest (3-4 on agg)
The Glasgow side, after beating Basel, Dinamo Zagreb and Slovan Bratislava en route, thought a first European final beckoned after thumping their Hungarian visitors 3-0 in the first leg. They collapsed in the return, with rumours the referee had been bought off. 1966: Celtic v Liverpool (2-3 on agg)
The bitter return leg for the Scottish champions turned on Bobby Lennox having a goal wrongly chopped off for offside, and brought a bottle shower from the visiting end, and injuries to 100 supporters. Following a 1-0 home leg win for Jock Stein’s men, the 2-1 defeat at Anfield denied Celtic a place in the final at Hampden. 1968-69: Dunfermline v Slovan Bratislava (1-2 on agg)
The so-called Battle of Bratislava put paid to the Fife club’s final hopes. A 1-1 draw at East End Park gave way to a return in which Pat Gardner was dismissed following a brawl involving practically every player. It left the Pars unable to respond to the loss of an early decisive strike for a team who then beat Barcelona in the final. 1983-84: Aberdeen v Porto (0-2 on agg)
Alex Ferguson’s men looked good to reach the final of a tournament they had won the season before when facing only a 1-0 goal deficit in the Pittodrie return leg. But the soon-to-be crowned champions lost in front of an expectant home crowd. FAIRS CUP 1960-61: Hibernian v Roma (lost 0-6 in play-off,
5-5 on agg)
Hibs were also the first Scottish side to compete in the Fairs Cup and under today’s rules, they would have made the final. A 2-2 Leith first leg was followed by a 3-3 draw in Rome, Joe Baker netting a double. In those days, that meant a play-off, which Roma won the right to host – a month after the Scottish league season had finished. The lack of match sharpness was evident in the 6-0 drubbing that followed for a Hibs side that had earlier ousted Barcelona. 1966-67: Kilmarnock v Leeds United (2-4 on agg)
This came in the same month as Celtic and Rangers made it to Euro finals and Scotland beat world champions England 3-2 at Wembley. A 4-2 first leg defeat at Elland Road allowed Don Revie’s men to stifle the Rugby Park men on their own soil. 1967-68: Dundee v Leeds United (1-2 on agg)
The 1-1 Dens Park draw that was followed by a 1-0 home win for the Yorkshire team meant Leeds added the scalp of Dundee to Hibs and Rangers from their previous two rounds. 1968-69: Rangers v Newcastle United (0-2 on agg)
Second leg at St James’ Park saw Rangers supporters spill on to the pitch en masse as rioting followed Scot Jackie Sinclair giving the home side an unassailable 2-0 lead with 13 minutes remaining. It took 20 minutes to restore order and conclude the encounter, which came following a scoreless draw in Glasgow.