This dissertation examines the impact of political identity on two famous football rivalries: El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, and the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers in Scotland. The author analyzes how politics historically fueled these rivalries, examines their contemporary relevance, and considers how the 2014 independence referendums in Scotland and Catalonia reflected club identities. Through studying the traditional narratives and ongoing significance of these rivalries, the dissertation aims to determine the role of political conflict in fueling them presently versus other factors like increased commercialization and globalization of football.

1.
El
Clásico
and
the
Old
Firm:
Assessing
the
impact
of
political
identity
on
two
of
football’s
greatest
domestic
rivalries.
Chris
Linnell
Student
ID:
200845149
BA
History
(Modern)
and
Politics
(LV21)
Supervisor:
Jonathan
Tonge
Word
Count:
11,234
Submission
Date:
6th
May
2015

2. Abstract
Recognised
as
the
most
popular
sport
in
the
world,
football
plays
a
powerful
role
in
how
certain
cultural
and
political
identities
are
reproduced.
This
dissertation
critically
examines
the
impact
of
political
identity
on
two
of
football’s
greatest
domestic
rivalries,
the
Spanish-­‐based
‘Clásico’,
between
Fútbol
Club
Barcelona
and
Real
Madrid
Club
de
Fútbol,
and
the
Scottish
‘Old
Firm’,
involving
Celtic
Football
Club
and
Rangers
Football
Club.
By
analysing
the
traditional
narratives
surrounding
both
rivalries,
and
investigating
the
contemporary
relevance
of
each,
conclusions
have
been
drawn
regarding
the
salience
of
political
conflict.
Against
a
background
of
increased
footballing
competition,
the
decline
of
religion,
the
requirement
to
adhere
to
globalisation
and
the
increased
worldwide
demand
for
a
certain
brand,
this
thesis
suggests
that
the
clubs
have
themselves
become
the
cause.
As
such,
while
study
of
these
two
world-­‐renowned
fixtures
ultimately
suggests
that
political
identity
now
only
partly
fuels
the
contemporary
sense
of
rivalry,
it
concludes
by
proposing
that
the
individual
supporter
bases
have
in
many
ways
retained
the
values
with
which
each
club
is
traditionally
associated.
Word
Count:
11,234

3. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
Contents
Introduction
1
Chapter
One:
How
has
politics
fuelled
the
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico
rivalries?
6
Chapter
Two:
Is
the
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico
still
fuelled
by
political
identity?
16
Chapter
Three:
How
did
the
2014
independence
referendums
reflect
club
identity?
35
Conclusion
53
Bibliography
57

4. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
1
Introduction
This
dissertation
will
explore
the
impact
that
politics
has
had
on
two
of
football’s
greatest
club
rivalries:
the
Spanish-­‐based
Clásico,
between
fierce
rivals
Fútbol
Club
Barcelona
(FC
Barcelona)
and
Real
Madrid
Club
de
Fútbol
(Real
Madrid),
and
the
Scottish-­‐based
Old
Firm
clash
between
Glasgow’s
Celtic
Football
Club
(Celtic)
and
Rangers
Football
Club
(Rangers).
Sport
provides
what
is
arguably
the
major
focus
for
collective
identification
in
modern
Britain
as
well
as
globally.1
Widely
recognised
as
the
most
popular
sport
in
the
world,
football
plays
a
powerful
role
in
how
certain
cultural
and
political
identities
are
reproduced.2
Thus,
at
the
forefront
of
this
thesis
is
this
question
of
identity,
with
the
ultimate
objective
to
establish
how
both
footballing
competition
and
politics
have
impacted
the
contemporary
pertinence
of
traditional
club
narratives.
The
rivalry
between
FC
Barcelona
and
Real
Madrid
reflects
longstanding
divisions
between
their
respective
areas
within
Spain,
Castile
and
Catalonia,
culturally
and
politically
at
odds
for
over
500
years.
According
to
O’Brien,
the
embedding
of
the
rivalry
between
these
two
great
Spanish
clubs
occurred
during
the
long
period
of
Franco’s
autocracy.
Real
Madrid
emerged
from
the
shadows
of
the
1940s
to
become
the
‘embodiment
and
1
J.
Bale,
Sport,
Space
and
the
city
(London:
Routledge,
1993),
p.55
2
H.
Shobe,
‘’Place,
identity
and
football:
Catalonia,
catalanisme
and
football
club
Barcelona’,
1899-­‐1975’,
National
Identities,
10.3
(2008),
p.329

5. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
2
representation’
of
the
Generalissimo’s
unitary,
indivisible
Spain.
FC
Barcelona
became
‘both
agent
and
symbol
in
defining
and
reflecting
the
broad
church
of
Catalanism.’3
More
than
a
quarter
of
a
century
after
the
instalment
of
democracy
in
Spain,
there
remains
a
sense
that
FC
Barcelona,
as
a
representative
of
Catalonia,
still
challenges
the
establishment
as
it
did
during
the
Franco
years.4
Just
as
its
stadium,
the
Nou
Camp,
has
become
a
venue
for
expressing
the
notion
that
Catalonia
is
a
place
distinct
from
Castilian
Spain,5
the
role
of
the
club
in
constructing
and
maintaining
the
region’s
identity
is
fundamental.6
As
Lowe
states,
this
clash
‘is
never
just
football,’
it
is
‘the
most
political
match
of
them
all’.7
Meanwhile,
Glasgow
is
the
home
of
one
of
the
oldest,
most
heated
rivalries
in
the
world.
The
tension
between
Rangers
and
Celtic
–
known
collectively
as
the
Old
Firm
-­‐
is
historically
tied
up
with
religion
and
nationality.
Celtic,
with
its
mainly
Catholic
following,
has
traditionally
been
of
great
importance
to
the
Irish
immigrant
community
in
Scotland,
while
Rangers
has
attracted
a
large
Scottish
(and
Northern
Irish
Protestant)
following.
Bradley
suggests
much
of
what
has
already
been
published
regarding
Celtic
has
been
limited
to
viewing
the
clubs
and
its
surrounding
fan
culture
solely
in
opposition
to
3
J.
O’Brien,
‘‘El
Clasico’
and
the
demise
of
tradition
in
Spanish
club
football:
perspectives
on
shifting
patterns
of
cultural
identity,
Soccer
&
Society,
14.3
(2013),
p.317
4
E.
Castro-­‐Ramos,
‘Loyalties,
commodity
and
fandom:
Real
Madrid,
Barca
and
Athletic
fans
versus
‘La
Furia
Roja’
during
the
World
Cup’,
Sport
in
Society,
11.6
(2008),
p.700
5
Shobe,
Place,
identity
and
football,
p.90
6
C.
Kassimeris,
‘Franco,
the
popular
game
and
ethnocentric
conduct
in
modern
Spanish
football’,
Soccer
&
Society,
13.4
(2012),
p.560
7
S.
Lowe,
Fear
and
Loathing
in
La
Liga:
Barcelona
vs
Real
Madrid
(London:
Yellow
Jersey
Press,
2013),
p.3

6. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
3
Rangers.8
The
same
can
be
said
for
their
city
adversaries;
such
is
the
magnitude
of
this
historic
rivalry.
While
this
fixture
is
somewhat
redundant
in
terms
of
the
football,
due
to
Ranger’s
sudden
descent
in
the
Scottish
Football
League
(SFL)
system,
its
history
is
littered
with
sectarian
controversy
and
violence.
The
first
chapter
of
this
dissertation
will
investigate
these
historic
divisions,
discussing
the
origins
behind
both
El
Clásico
and
the
Old
Firm.
The
second
chapter
will
analyse
the
contemporary
relevance
of
said
identities.
Here
it
is
argued
that
these
historical-­‐based
grounds
for
contention
have
gradually
lost
their
salience,
as
competition
for
domestic
dominance,
finance,
and
particularly
in
the
case
of
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona,
global
branding,
has
taken
precedence.
O’Brien
notes,
the
increasing
ascendency
of
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona,
and
the
subsequent
duopoly
that
has
formed
in
Spain,
has
served
to
erode
and
obscure
the
rich
interplay
of
competing
political
and
cultural
identities. 9
Castro-­‐Ramos
states,
the
two
clubs
now
have
more
similarities
than
differences
and
thus
their
rivalry
may
still
be
understood
as
a
struggle
between
two
economic
superpowers.10
Similarly,
while
the
Old
Firm
derby
has
retained
its
religious
and
political
overtones,
they
are
progressively
becoming
less
relevant
as
Scotland
becomes
a
more
secular
society
and
as
the
‘Irish
question’
has
8
J.
Bradley,
‘Sport
and
the
Contestation
of
Ethnic
Identity:
Football
and
Irishness
in
Scotland’,
Journal
of
Ethnic
and
Migration
Studies,
32.7
(2006),
p.1190
9
O’Brien,
p.316
10
Castro-­‐Ramos,
p.700

7. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
4
slipped
down
the
political
agenda.
In
recent
years
the
bi-­‐polar
hegemony
of
the
two
clubs,
the
competition
for
trophies
and
the
quest
for
superiority
has
undoubtedly
intensified
the
sense
of
rivalry
between
them,
perhaps
more
so
than
the
original
identity-­‐based
narrative
and
the
sectarian
tension
associated
with
it.
There
is
no
question
that
the
famous
Glasgow
clash
is
less
illustrious
than
El
Clásico,
yet
the
parallels
between
them
are
vivid.
The
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico
have
become
deeply
rooted
in
politics
throughout
history
and
to
this
day.
In
light
of
the
2014
referendums
in
both
Scotland
and
Spain,
the
questions
raised
in
this
thesis
pose
significant
contemporary
relevance.
By
analysing
the
voting
alignment
and
attitudes
of
those
living
within
Scotland
and
Catalonia
the
final
chapter
will
investigate
the
role
of
the
Old
Firm
clubs
and
FC
Barcelona
in
the
respective
votes
for
independence.
As
Shobe
reminds
us,
even
from
its
early
history,
FC
Barcelona
has
been
associated
with
Catalan
nationalism,11
while
Burns
notes
that
within
ten
years
of
existence,
the
club
developed
into
a
major
force
in
suggesting
‘that
politics
and
sport
could
be
a
part
of
the
same
cultural
identity’.12
However,
the
degree
to
which
the
club
has
pushed
the
Catalan
cause
has
always
depended
on
the
board
in
power.
Meanwhile,
both
Celtic
and
Rangers
have
opted
to
separate
themselves
from
the
political
arena,
for
reasons
that
will
later
be
investigated.
11
Shobe,
Place,
identity
and
football,
p.335
12
J.
Burns,
Barca:
A
People’s
Passion
(London:
Bloomsburg,
2009),
p.85

8. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
5
Differing
political
ideologies
have
always
played
a
significant
role
in
fuelling
tension
between
the
two
nation’s
footballing
giants,
and
will
continue
to
do
so.
This
dissertation’s
conclusion
will
analyse
the
continuing
depths
of
division,
their
significance
in
contemporary
politics
and
the
potential
prospects
with
regard
to
the
future.
Due
to
the
contemporary
nature
of
such
an
investigation,
this
thesis
relies
heavily
at
times
on
immediate,
online
primary
sources,
particularly
in
the
second
chapter.
However,
these
are
carefully
balanced
throughout
with
the
existing
academic
research
that
is
available.
The
value
of
this
dissertation
will
therefore
come
from
the
way
in
which
it
draws
together
the
existing
literature
and
the
aforementioned
primary
sources
with
the
purpose
of
providing
fresh
insight
on
a
topic
that
has
retained
its
salience,
even
to
this
day.

9. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
ID:
200845149
6
Chapter
One
How
has
politics
fuelled
the
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico
rivalries?
Football
has
the
capacity
to
embody,
actualise
and
express
a
multiplicity
of
identities
-­‐
national,
cultural,
ethnic,
religious,
social,
political,
economic
and
community
-­‐
in
a
way
few
other
social
manifestations
can.13
This
is
certainly
the
case
with
both
the
El
Clásico
and
the
Old
Firm,
in
which
the
competing
sides,
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona,
Celtic
and
Rangers
have
come
to
symbolise
far
more
than
just
footballing
entities.
In
both
Scotland
and
Spain,
the
conflicting
identities
of
each
rival
club
continue
to
have
an
impact
on
politics,
and
vice-­‐versa.
The
debate
surrounding
the
extent
of
the
Old
Firm’s
influence
remains
rife.
Thus
far,
academics
have
been
unable
to
offer
a
definitive
answer
as
to
how
much
of
an
impact
the
derby
has
on
maintaining
sectarian
tension.
Styles
asserts
that
the
‘importance
of
professional
football
in
the
sectarian
history
of
Scotland
is
hard
to
overstate.’
Whether
as
a
cause,
or
effect,
the
rivalry
between
Celtic
and
Rangers
has
been,
in
large
part,
fuelled
by
the
tensions
between
Catholic
and
Protestant.
He
believes
it
is
the
existence
of
rival
football
teams
that
has
done
much
to
preserve
these
antagonisms.14
Bruce,
however,
is
far
more
13
Bradley,
Sport
and
the
contestation
of
ethnic
identity,
p.1197
14
S.
Styles,
‘The
Non-­‐Sectarian
Culture
of
North-­‐East
Scotland’,
in
T.
Devine
(ed.),
Scotland’s
Shame?:
Bigotry
and
Sectarianism
in
Modern
Scotland
(Edinburgh:
Mainstream,
2000),
p.118.

10. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
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200845149
7
sceptical.
He
implies
that
there
is
little
evidence
to
suggest
Scotland
is
particularly
sectarian,
even
when
it
comes
to
the
Old
Firm
Glasgow
rivalry.
He
concedes,
Irish-­‐Catholic
and
Scots-­‐Protestant-­‐Unionist
identities
retain
their
salience
among
some
fans
of
both
Celtic
and
Rangers.
Nonetheless,
football
fan
behaviour
is
by
and
large
ritualised
and
confined.
As
he
explains,
‘the
vast
majority
of
those
who
sing
their
approval
of
the
IRA
and
the
UVF
extremes
do
nothing
at
all
outside
football
matches
to
turn
those
words
into
reality.’15
Bruce
also
states
animosities
associated
with
such
sectarian
tension
‘should
not
be
allowed
to
dominate
or
distort
perceptions
of
the
Scots,
or
of
Scottish
culture.’
He
dismisses
the
issue
of
religious
sectarianism
in
contemporary
Scotland
as
a
‘boy’s
game’;
something
ritualistically
played
out
at
football
matches
between
Rangers
and
Celtic
and
lacking
any
substantive
day-­‐to-­‐day
content.16
However,
Macmillan
suggests
that
there
is
still,
even
today,
a
‘palpable
sense
of
some
threat
and
hostility
to
all
things
Catholic.’
He
argues
that
in
many
walks
of
life,
anti-­‐Catholicism
is
endemic.17
Despite
convincing
arguments
by
either
side,
this
debate
remains
unresolved.
In
Spain,
the
sense
of
a
Catalan
identity
is
now
at
its
greatest,
having
developed
with
most
vigour
during
the
nation’s
social
and
political
15
S.
Bruce
et
al.,
Sectarianism
in
Scotland
(Edinburgh:
Edinburgh
University
Press,
2004),
p.150
16
S.
Bruce,
‘Scottish
Sectarianism?
Let’s
lay
this
myth
to
rest’,
The
Guardian
(2011)
<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/apr/24/scotland-­‐
sectarianism-­‐research-­‐data>
[accessed
2
December
2014]
17
J.
MacMillan,
‘Scotland’s
Shame’
in
T.
Devine
(ed.),
Scotland’s
Shame?:
Bigotry
and
Sectarianism
in
Modern
Scotland
(Edinburgh:
Mainstream,
2000),
p.15

11. POLI401
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Student
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200845149
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transition
from
authoritarianism
to
democracy.18
Since
Franco’s
death
in
1975
and
the
establishment
of
a
new
constitution
in
1978
Catalonia
has
regained
degrees
of
autonomy.
The
success
of
FC
Barcelona,
having
now
reverted
to
its
pre-­‐Franco
name,
has
therefore
mirrored
a
renaissance
of
language,
culture
and
identity
in
the
region.19
El
Clásico
has
transformed
from
being
an
integral
part
of
a
set
of
constructions
of
Spain,
to
competing
ethnicities,
in
which
globalization,
the
global
media
and
the
changing
fabric
of
the
country
and
its
football,
are
all
factors
that
add
even
greater
intensity
–
be
it
sporting
or
political
-­‐
to
each
meeting
between
the
two
sides.20
However,
while
FC
Barcelona
has
gradually
become
the
natural
embodiment
of
Catalonia
itself,
growing
into
the
agent
and
symbol
of
the
region,
Real
Madrid
has
become
less
certain
of
its
ability
to
represent
‘Spanishness’.21
As
O’Brien
states,
‘the
manufactured
unity
and
consent
of
the
Franco
regime
has
long
since
vanished,
having
been
replaced
by
an
uncertainty
about
what
cultural
values
Real
Madrid
should
embellish.’
FC
Barcelona
has
stamped
its
distinctiveness
on
every
facet
of
its
ethos
on
and
off
the
field,
whilst
Real
Madrid
is
yet
to
‘clearly
define
a
set
of
political
or
cultural
values.’
In
the
grander
scheme
this
has
demonstrated
a
shift
of
power
away
from
the
central
government
towards
the
regions
of
Spain.22
18
H.
Shobe,
‘Football
and
the
politics
of
place:
Football
Club
Barcelona
and
Catalonia,
1975-­‐
2005’,
Journal
of
Cultural
Geography,
25.1
(2008),
p.90.
19
O’Brien,
p.317.
20
ibid,
p.318
21
ibid,
p.317
22
ibid,
p.328

12. POLI401
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As
the
competitiveness
between
Celtic
and
Rangers
grew,
so
did
the
dominance
of
the
institutions
themselves.
This
is
a
match
with
a
history
rooted
in
a
long
and
passionate
mutual
enmity
that
extends
far
beyond
the
sporting
arena.23
The
rivalry
between
the
two
clubs
is
deeply
embedded
within
Scottish
culture.
However,
the
competition
between
them
has
roots
in
more
than
just
a
sporting
rivalry
and
hence
the
derby’s
reputation
is
not
simply
renowned
for
the
quality
of
its
performance
on
the
pitch.
It
is
a
fixture
embroiled
in
differing
political
beliefs,
alternative
religions
and
opposing
social
attitudes.
While
sectarianism
has
become
less
prevalent
in
Scottish
culture,
and
religion
no
longer
the
central
influence
in
people's
lives,
the
‘Old
Firm’
game
is
‘blighted
by
the
language
of
its
enmity,
the
history
it
drags
back
into
prominence.’24
Rangers
has
grown
to
capture
a
particular
Protestant
identity,
which
has
a
strong,
political,
cultural
and
social
character;
this
is
infused
with
a
number
of
anti-­‐Catholic
features.25
Many
of
its
official
supporters’
clubs
incorporate
the
words
‘Loyal’
or
‘True
Blues’
into
their
names.
Fans
carry
Union
Jacks,
the
Red
Hand
of
Ulster
and
scarves
adorned
with
images
of
King
William
of
Orange.
Catholic
identities,
on
the
other
hand,
are
features
essential
to
23
Celtic
vs
Rangers:
Old
Firm’s
enduring
appeal
<http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/rivalries/newsid=1023776/index.html>
[accessed
2
December
2014]
24
R.
Wilson,
‘Rangers
and
Celtic:
Disunited
they
stand’,
The
Independent
(2011)
<http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-­‐and-­‐comment/rangers-­‐and-­‐celtic-­‐
disunited-­‐they-­‐stand-­‐2236083.html>
[accessed
4
March
2014]
25
J.
Bradley,
Ethnic
and
Religious
Identity
in
Modern
Scotland:
Culture,
Politics
and
Football
(Avebury:
Aldershot,
1995),
p.37.

13. POLI401
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Student
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understanding
Celtic,
its
support
and
their
place
in
Scottish
society.26
Many
fans
carry
the
Irish
tricolour
and
sing
Irish
folk
or
rebel
political
ballads.
The
origins
and
development
of
the
club
are
therefore
embedded
and
intertwined
in
the
history
and
evolution
of
the
Irish
Catholic
immigrant
diaspora
in
Scotland.27
Bradley
states
that
this
Irish
Catholic
identity
is
‘disparaged’
within
the
‘dominant
Scottish,
British
and
Protestant
cultures’;
a
perspective
shared
by
Reilly
who
has
also
argued
that
in
the
sporting
context
Rangers
have
represented
and
continue
to
represent
‘the
Establishment’
in
Scotland
which,
it
is
implied,
operates
some
kind
of
anti-­‐
Catholic
agenda.28
Whether
or
not
Rangers
represent
the
establishment
now
is
contestable,
especially
considering
the
club’s
current
standing
in
Scottish
football.
The
institution
of
Celtic
demonstrates
the
misconception
that
the
Irish
in
Scotland
have
‘ceased
to
exist’.
For
those
people
who
are
descended
from
Irish
immigrants
in
Scotland
and
who
view
Celtic
as
intrinsic
to
their
‘Irishness’,
the
club
remains
a
site
for
the
preservation
of
their
cultural
traditions,
customs,
political
preferences
and
for
the
socialisation
and
sustenance
of
Irish
identity.29
Walker,
on
the
other
hand,
suggests
that
Protestant
community
confidence
was
never
as
concentrated
on
Rangers,
as
26
Bradley,
Sport
and
the
Contestation
of
Ethnic
Identity,
p.1204
27
ibid,
p.1189
28
G.
Walker,
‘Identity
Questions
in
Contemporary
Scotland:
Faith,
Football
and
Future
Prospects’,
Contemporary
British
History,
15.1
(2001),
p.48
29
Bradley,
Sport
and
the
Contestation
of
Ethnic
Identity,
pp.1197-­‐1205

14. POLI401
Dissertation
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its
Catholic
counterpart
has
been
on
Celtic.
Nonetheless,
Rangers
have
always
been
the
most
popular
choice
among
Protestants
in
Scotland.30
Lowe
encapsulates
the
tensions
surrounding
a
similar
situation
with
El
Clásico.
He
states,
‘with
Barca
and
Madrid,
it
is
so
often
about
each
other;
they
are
defined
by
what
they
are
and
by
what
they
are
not.
Being
a
Barcelona
fan
necessarily
means
being
an
anti-­‐Madrista
and
vice
versa
-­‐
even
if
those
identities,
like
any
identity,
are
built
at
least
partly
on
myths.’31
The
110-­‐year
football
rivalry
between
the
two
Spanish
top-­‐flight
clubs
is
rooted
in
the
historic
political
and
cultural
conflict
between
Catalonia
and
Castile.
However,
as
Spain
transformed
from
monarchy
to
dictatorship,
from
republic
to
the
brink
of
civil
war,
the
game
became
ever
more
politicized
and
the
rivalry
grew
more
intense.32
O’Brien
supports
this
ideal.
He
suggests
that
the
foundation
of
FC
Barcelona
and
Real
Madrid
quickly
established
the
legitimacy
of
football
to
represent
locality,
language,
class
and
culture
in
the
Spanish
lexicon. 33
Although
spatially
different,
much
like
the
case
in
Glasgow,
El
Clásico
has
developed
synonymously
with
ideological
contradictions
between
the
cities
of
Madrid
and
Barcelona.
FC
Barcelona
became
a
surrogate
for
supporting
the
Catalan
nation
–
a
bastion
for
Catalan
separatism
-­‐
while
Real
Madrid,
accepted
by
many
as
the
team
of
Castile
and
30
Walker,
p.51
31
Lowe,
p.13.
32
O’Brien,
p.320.
33
ibid,
p.316.

15. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
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Franco,
is
perceived
to
represent
centralization.34
During
the
Francoist
oppression,
FC
Barcelona
came
to
function
as
an
important
vehicle
for
the
expression
of
Catalan
identity
and
national
sentiments. 35
Although
administered
for
many
years
by
the
Generalissimo’s
appointees,
FC
Barcelona
and
the
Camp
Nou
stadium,
just
like
Celtic
Park
for
Irish-­‐Catholics
in
Scotland,
provided
a
venue
for
expressing
the
cultural
and
political
sentiment
that
Barcelona
and
Catalonia
are
places
distinct
from
Castilian
Spain.36
Therefore,
the
construction
of
the
stadium
in
1957
created
a
rival
site
of
competing
identity,
as
the
club
became
the
only
legal
arena
in
which
an
alternative
ethnic
and
cultural
identity
could
be
articulated.37
There
is,
however,
debate
regarding
the
extent
to
which
Real
Madrid
can
be
regarded
as
Franco’s
team.
While
several
scholarly
pieces
infer
that
Real
Madrid
emerged
from
the
shadows
of
the
1940s,
to
become
the
team
of
the
regime38
-­‐
the
embodiment
and
representation
of
Franco’s
unitary
Spain
-­‐
many
fail
to
recognise
that
Real
Madrid’s
city
rivals,
Atletico
Madrid,
gained
the
greatest
approval
throughout
the
earliest
period
of
the
Spanish
authoritarian
government’s
reign.
Burns
is
one
of
few
who
recognise
Atletico
as
the
team
that
attracted
Franco’s
early
favouritism.
Following
the
Spanish
Civil
War,
Aviacion
Nacional
was
formed
in
the
town
of
Salamanca.
This
side
came
to
symbolise
the
control
that
the
emerging
Franco
regime
34
Kassimeris,
p.560
35
Shobe,
Football
and
the
Politics
of
Place,
p.87
36
ibid,
p.90.
37
O’Brien,
p.321
38
D.
Shaw,
‘The
Politics
of
Futbol’,
History
Today,
35.8
(1985),
p.39
and
O’Brien,
p.317

16. POLI401
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Student
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13
wished
to
exert
over
football.
Prior
to
the
military
uprising,
the
old
Atletico
side
had
been
relegated
to
the
second
division
and
plunged
into
debt.
As
a
pre-­‐condition
for
Aviacion’s
registration
as
a
first
division
club,
the
two
sides
were
forced
into
a
merger,
forming
Club
Atletico
de
Aviacion.
The
newly
established
side’s
senior
management
were
military
men
and
civilian
officials
who
had
fought
for
Franco
during
the
civil
war.39
Nevertheless,
as
Alfredo
Di
Stefano
led
Real
Madrid
to
domestic
and
European
domination
in
the
1950s,
including
success
in
the
first
five
European
Cups,
Franco
switched
allegiances,
revelling
in
the
success
of
Los
Blancos.
Ever
the
populist
opportunist,
he
saw
this
as
the
perfect
chance
to
further
his
agenda.40
Real
Madrid
became
a
political
tool
for
the
self-­‐
aggrandisement
of
Franco,
who
was
actually
no
more
than
a
casual
fan
of
football.
He
saw
the
benefit
of
a
strong
team
from
Madrid
both
internationally
and
domestically,
using
this
to
help
portray
the
strength
of
the
central
government.
This
saw
football
increasingly
manipulated
as
a
mass
spectacle
in
order
to
legitimize
the
regime
and
construct
a
sense
of
‘Spanishness’
and
national
identity.41
It
was
during
this
period
that
Real
Madrid
began
to
have
strong
political
connotations,
to
the
extent
that
it
39
J.
Burns,
La
Roja:
A
Journey
Through
Spanish
Football
(London:
Simon
&
Schuster,
2012),
pp.
128-­‐129.
40
R.
Ballout,
‘Why
everything
you
know
about
the
Madrid
derby
might
be
wrong’,
Four
Four
Two
(2015)
<http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/why-­‐everything-­‐you-­‐know-­‐about-­‐
madrid-­‐derby-­‐might-­‐be-­‐wrong>
[accessed
20
January
2014]
41
O’Brien,
p.
321

17. POLI401
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Student
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became
considered
the
team
of
the
Generalissimo’s
regime.42
Yet,
while
Real
Madrid’s
enemies
had
always
tarnished
the
club
with
the
brush
of
collaboration
with
the
Franco
regime,
Lowe
suggests
that
such
conceptions
are
only
presented
by
one
side
of
the
debate.43
In
January
1940,
FC
Barcelona
were
obliged
to
Castilianise
their
name,
from
Football
Club
Barcelona
to
Barcelona
Club
de
Fútbol,
while
the
four
bars
on
their
Catalan
badge
were
reduced
to
two.
However,
while
Real
Madrid
recovered
their
‘Real’
title,
they
were
also
forced
to
Castilianise
their
name
by
placing
‘Club
de
Fútbol’
after
Real
Madrid.
In
fact,
Lowe
suggests,
that
by
the
end
of
the
civil
war,
there
had
been
fears
that
the
capital
club
would
disappear
altogether. 44
Furthermore,
Franco
may
have
exploited
the
political
confusion
of
the
Catalans,
but
according
to
Burns,
his
intention
was
never
to
prevent
FC
Barcelona
from
winning
titles.
In
fact,
he
wanted
to
see
Spanish
football
become
an
ever-­‐popular
sport
thanks
to
the
rivalry
between
its
two
great
clubs.45
It
is
regrettable
that
insufficient
scholarly
work
has
been
dedicated
to
FC
Barcelona’s
role
in
contemporary
politics,
especially
considering
the
media
spotlight
that
has
been
heavily
focused
on
the
region
during
its
push
for
self-­‐
determination.
Clearly,
the
rivalry
between
the
Catalan
giants
and
Real
Madrid
continues
to
represent
an
intense
political
struggle.
However,
there
42
Kassimeris,
p.560
43
Lowe,
p.11
44
ibid,
p.64
45
Burns,
La
Roja,
p.209

18. POLI401
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Student
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15
is
almost
no
post-­‐authoritarian
academic
enquiry
into
the
identity-­‐related
role
of
Spain’s
two
most
dominant
club
sides.
Although
sectarianism
in
Scotland
has
been
researched
and
analysed
in
detail,
the
extent
to
which
the
Old
Firm
derby
continues
to
represent
and
fuel
tension,
remains
somewhat
under
explored,
especially
by
academics.
This
fixture
itself
may
have
lost
its
potency,
due
to
Rangers’
removal
from
the
Scottish
Premier
League
amid
financial
irregularities.
Even
so,
the
clubs
continue
to
represent
a
rich-­‐
history
and
tradition
that
maintains
an
overwhelming
sense
of
identity.
In
the
case
of
the
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico,
it
is
evident
that
each
rivalry
has
emerged
in
the
form
of
a
political,
identity-­‐based
conflict.
In
Spain,
the
notion
of
FC
Barcelona,
symbolic
of
Catalan
nationalism,
standing
tall
in
the
fight
against
Franco,
Fascism
and
Real
Madrid,
dominates
the
traditional
narrative.
While
in
Scotland,
Irish-­‐friendly
Celtic
is
widely
believed
to
have
provided
a
bastion
for
Catholic
support
against
Protestant
Rangers,
club
of
the
Establishment.
The
second
chapter
will
investigate
the
contemporary
relevance
of
the
discussed
identities,
and
more
particularly,
to
what
extent
they
still
play
a
role
in
fuelling
the
sense
of
competition
between
both
Celtic
and
Rangers,
and
FC
Barcelona
and
Real
Madrid.

19. POLI401
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Student
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16
Chapter
Two
Is
the
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico
still
fuelled
by
political
identity?
The
following
chapter
will
investigate
the
contemporary
relevance
of
the
traditional
identity-­‐based
narrative
that
is
associated
with
both
the
Old
Firm
derby
and
El
Clásico.
It
is
argued
that
the
media,
finance
and
the
pure
drive
for
footballing
superiority
have
played
important
roles
in
weakening
the
traditional
identity-­‐based
values
that
are
commonly
attached
to
either
rivalry.
The
cause
and
effects
of
negative
fan
behaviour
is
also
analysed,
with
football
commonly
regarded
as
a
vanguard
for
hooliganism
and
fan
violence.
Until
recently,
the
Real
Madrid
versus
FC
Barcelona
rivalry
was
a
relatively
one-­‐sided
affair
in
terms
of
success
on
the
field.
Real
Madrid
built
dynasties
in
the
1950s
and
1960s,
and
continued
to
dominate
throughout
the
1970s
and
1980s.
FC
Barcelona
enjoyed
sporadic
success,
but
it
wasn't
until
the
early
1990s
that
they
finally
established
dominance
themselves
-­‐
winning
four
titles
in
a
row
and
their
first
European
Cup
in
1992.
The
balance
of
power
shifted
back
and
forth
over
the
next
15
years,
but
FC
Barcelona
are
now
in
the
ascendancy.
The
Catalan
club
have
now
won
six
of
the
last
ten
Spanish
league
titles,
and
claimed
a
fourth
Champions
League
crown
in
2011.
Meanwhile,
Real
Madrid
have
won
three
league
titles
in
this
period,
with
its
most
recent
European
success
coming
in
2014,
the
tenth
in
its

20. POLI401
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history.
The
two
sides
have
enjoyed
much
success,
and
as
a
consequence,
they
have
become
the
leading
clubs
in
Spanish
football.
Through
saturated
worldwide
media
exposure
El
Clásico
has
been
the
defining
filter
for
competing
cultural
identities
between
Catalonia
and
Madrid,
allowing
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona
to
exploit
their
historical
political
heritage.46
In
March
2014,
an
estimated
400
million
people
watched
FC
Barcelona’s
emphatic
4-­‐3
victory
over
Real
Madrid;
a
game
in
which
Lionel
Messi
scored
a
hat-­‐trick
to
become
the
leading
scorer
in
El
Clásico
history.47
To
offer
a
comparison,
this
viewing
figure
is
over
double
that
of
the
worldwide
Superbowl
audience
from
the
same
year.48
As
a
consequence
of
global
branding
and
marketing,
the
folklore
and
traditions
of
the
club
have
enabled
them
to
project
their
values
on
to
a
tremendous
stage.49
Indeed,
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona
boast
the
greatest
worldwide
followings.50
While
this
has
served
to
heighten
the
tension
between
the
two
clubs,
one
would
argue,
based
on
the
following
evidence,
that
it
has
also
detracted
from
the
traditional
identity-­‐based
conflict.
46
O’Brien,
p.327
47
CNN,
‘Lionel
Messi
inspires
Barcelona
to
4-­‐3
win
over
Real
Madrid
in
El
Clasico’,
CNN,
March
24,
2014
<http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/23/sport/football/real-­‐madrid-­‐
barcelona-­‐clasico/>
[accessed
15
January
2015]
48
A.
Both,
‘Super
Bowl
has
ways
to
go
in
captivating
global
audience’,
Reuters,
January
24,
2015
<
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/24/us-­‐nfl-­‐international-­‐
idUSKBN0KX0KK20150124>
[accessed
25
January
2015]
49
O’Brien,
p.327
50
J.
Jackson,
‘Twitter,
Facebook,
Instagram:
who
are
the
world’s
most
popular
football
clubs?’,
The
Guardian,
December
9,
2014
<http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/09/twitter-­‐facebook-­‐instagram-­‐
world-­‐leading-­‐football-­‐clubs-­‐social-­‐media>
[accessed
15
January
2015]

21. POLI401
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Old
Firm
clashes
are
considerably
less
illustrious,
but
they
do
pose
a
similar
importance
when
it
comes
to
the
fabric
of
Scottish
league
football.
Celtic
and
Rangers
are
the
two
most
successful
teams
in
the
nation’s
history.
Between
them
the
duo
boast
100
Scottish
top-­‐flight
league
titles
and
69
Scottish
Cups.
In
terms
of
competitiveness
in
Europe,
Celtic
holds
the
advantage.
Both
clubs
have
been
crowned
UEFA
Cup
champions
since
the
turn
of
the
century,
but
Celtic
are
the
only
team
to
have
achieved
success
in
Europe’s
most
sought
after
competition,
the
European
Cup.
This
bi-­‐polar
hegemony
within
the
upper
echelons
of
the
SFL
has
played
a
significant
role
in
narrowing
the
focus
of
media
coverage
and
finance,
and,
as
is
the
case
within
Spain,
the
competition
for
trophies
and
the
quest
for
superiority
has
intensified
the
sense
of
rivalry
over
the
years.
Nevertheless,
this
duopoly
has
encountered
a
setback
within
recent
years.
In
2012,
Rangers
entered
administration
and
were
deducted
10
points,
effectively
ending
its
Scottish
Premier
League
challenge.51
When
liquidation
could
not
be
avoided,
a
consortium
bought
the
club's
assets
in
June
and
the
team
were
subsequently
placed
in
Scottish
football's
bottom
tier
for
season
2012-­‐13.52
Having
achieved
consecutive
promotions
in
the
last
two
seasons,
Rangers
will
enter
the
promotion
play-­‐offs
at
the
end
of
the
current
season.
51
BBC
News,
‘Rangers
Football
Club
enters
administration’,
BBC
News,
February
14,
2012
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-­‐scotland-­‐glasgow-­‐west-­‐17026172>
[accessed
8
January
2015]
52
BBC
News,
‘Rangers:
Charles
Green
accepts
Division
Three
vote’,
BBC
News,
July
13,
2012
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18813407>
[accessed
January
15
2015]

22. POLI401
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Success
in
this
will
see
them
reinstated
as
a
Premier
League
side.
Celtic,
meanwhile,
have
just
won
a
45th
Premiership
title
-­‐
the
club’s
third
successive
league
championship
since
Rangers’
demise.
In
Spain,
Catalan
remains
ubiquitous
in
FC
Barcelona’s
affairs.
At
the
stadium,
signs,
chants
and
general
communication
are
all
in
Catalan,
while
Castro-­‐Ramos,
notes
the
presence
of
Catalan
flags
and
the
parallel
absence
of
Spanish
flags.
The
red
and
yellow
striped
flags
are
throughout
the
stadium,
and
even
on
the
team’s
shield.53
The
club’s
motto,
‘Mes
que
un
club’,
meaning
‘More
than
a
club’,
is
still
as
relevant
in
contemporary
football
as
the
day
of
its
first
reference.
FC
Barcelona
stamps
its
distinctiveness
on
every
facet
of
its
ethos
on
and
off
the
field.
In
recent
years
the
club
has
gradually
invoked
a
more
overt
Catalan
stance,
particularly
during
Pep
Guardiola’s
managerial
period
(2008-­‐2012),
when
the
majority
of
players
schooled
in
‘La
Masia’
–
the
club’s
remarkable
youth
set-­‐up
–
found
prominence
in
the
first
team.54
In
contrast,
Real
Madrid
appeared
to
be
part
of
the
Spanish
‘establishment’.
The
government
had
strong
ties,
as
covered
in
chapter
one,
but
there
is
little
evidence
to
suggest
that
this
remains
the
case.
Now
any
link
to
the
Spanish
government
can
be
contested.
As
Castro-­‐Ramos
states,
‘it
would
be
very
difficult
to
argue
that
Real
Madrid
is
favoured
by
the
Spanish
government’.
Prime
Minister
Mariano
Rajoy,
53
Castro-­‐Ramos,
p.
699
54
O’Brien,
p.325

23. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
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leader
of
the
People's
Party,
may
be
a
self-­‐confessed
Madridsta,55
but
Castro
argues,
‘because
football
is
more
than
ever
controlled
by
the
multinational
companies
and
the
media,
a
“government
team”
would
have
limited
repercussions.’56
Essentially,
he
is
suggesting
that,
the
confines
of
operating
in
front
of
such
a
momentous
spectatorship,
restricts
the
government’s
ability
to
influence
the
fortunes
of
any
individual
side,
with
Real
Madrid
proving
no
exception.
For
seven
and
a
half
years
prior
to
Rajoy’s
incumbency,
FC
Barcelona
supporter
and
Spanish
Socialist
Workers’
Party
leader,
Jose
Zapatero,
had
governed
Spain.57
Furthermore,
the
Spanish
national
team
itself
experienced
an
uneven
distribution
of
players
from
El
Clásico
teams,
sometimes
in
favour
of
FC
Barcelona,
not
Real
Madrid.
Of
Spain’s
2010
World
Cup
winning
23-­‐man
squad,
seven
played
their
club
football
for
FC
Barcelona,
while
just
five
played
for
Real
Madrid.58
Meanwhile,
five
of
the
11
players
who
lined
up
for
the
opening
fixture
of
Spain’s
2014
World
Cup
campaign
were
members
of
the
FC
Barcelona
squad,
with
only
three
representing
Real
Madrid.59
55
T.
Campos,
‘El
Real
Madrid
'recupera'
La
Moncloa’,
Marca,
November
20,
2011
<http://www.marca.com/2011/11/20/futbol/1adivision/1321774398.html>
[accessed
January
10
2015]
56
Castro-­‐Ramos,
p.702
57
Campos
58
BBC
Sport,
‘Spain
omit
Marcos
Senna
from
2010
World
Cup
squad’,
BBC
Sport,
May
20,
2010
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8695232.stm>
[accessed
15
January
2015]
59
D.
Ornstein,
‘Spain
1
Netherlands
5’,
BBC
Football,
June
13,
2015
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25285043>
[accessed
20
January
2015]

24. POLI401
Dissertation
Student
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Somewhat
surprisingly,
a
similar
argument
has
become
relevant
when
analysing
the
weakening
identities
of
the
Old
Firm
clubs.
It
is
important
to
note,
that,
as
a
professional
entity,
Celtic
has
never
claimed
to
represent
Catholicism,
although
its
support
base
in
the
past
has
been
overwhelmingly
Catholic.
Nor
has
Rangers
ever
claimed
to
represent
Protestantism.
Nevertheless,
the
sense
of
religious
and
political
affiliation,
from
the
perspective
of
each
sides’
supporters
is
far
less
relevant
than
it
once
was.
In
2003,
Glasgow
City
Council
released
evidence
that
74%
of
those
who
said
they
support
Celtic
described
themselves
as
Roman
Catholic
(while
only
4%
described
themselves
as
Protestant).
Similarly,
65%
of
those
who
said
they
support
Rangers
described
themselves
as
Protestant
(5%
described
themselves
as
Catholic).60
In
a
more
recent
government
report,
published
in
2014,
these
figures
had
reduced
significantly.
Now,
a
majority
(56%)
of
those
who
support
Rangers
regard
themselves
as
Protestants,
but
a
substantial
minority
do
not.
Nearly
a
quarter
of
Rangers
supporters
(23%)
do
not
identify
with
any
religion
at
all,
while
13%
say
they
are
Christian.
Equally,
a
majority
of
Celtic
supporters
(56%)
regard
themselves
as
Catholic,
but
23%
do
not
identify
with
any
religion.61
This
compares
to
the
national
figures,
in
which,
between
2001
and
2011,
Protestantism
suffered
a
fall
of
10%
(now
accounts
for
32.4%),
the
proportion
of
those
practicing
60
S.
Hinchliffe
et
al,
‘Scottish
Social
Attitudes
Survey
2014:
Public
Attitudes
to
Sectarianism
in
Scotland’,
ScotCen
Social
Research,
2015,
p.10
<http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00471791.pdf>
[accessed
10
March
2015]
61
ibid,
p.14

25. POLI401
Dissertation
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Catholicism
remained
the
same
(15.9%),
and
the
number
affiliating
with
no
religion
rose
to
36.7%;
an
increase
of
8.9%.62
Just
as
religion
has
lost
the
significance
it
once
had
in
modern
western
society,
it
is
clear
that
the
political
associations
with
the
Old
Firm
clubs
have
become
far
less
relevant
in
garnering
popular
support.
As
described
by
Kuper,
the
sectarian
values
surrounding
the
Old
Firm
have
seemingly
become
mere
decoration,
one
which
‘harks
back
to
the
two
clubs'
traditions
and
spices
up
today's
rivalry.’
The
social
background
to
the
rivalry
has
transformed,
as
Glasgow
has
ceased
to
be
a
particularly
sectarian
or
Christian
city.63
According
to
Bruce,
between
1984
and
2002,
Protestant
church
attendance
fell
from
around
360,000
to
228,500,
a
drop
of
over
a
third.
Meanwhile,
in
the
same
period,
the
Catholic
Church
recorded
a
drop
of
42%:
from
346,000
to
202,000.64
With
the
overall
numbers
of
those
practicing
a
certain
faith
rapidly
decreasing,
it
is
fair
to
suggest
a
similar
trend
among
those
who
support
Celtic
and
Rangers.
As
is
now
often
the
case
across
Europe,
football
chants
are
ceasing
to
be
the
echo
of
political,
62
National
Records
of
Scotland,
‘2011
Census:
Key
Results
on
Population,
Ethnicity,
Identity,
Language,
Religion,
Health,
Housing
and
Accommodation
in
Scotland
-­‐
Release
2A’,
September
26,
2013,
p.32
<http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/StatsBulletin2
A.pdf>
[accessed
10
March
2015]
63
S.
Kuper,
‘Decline
and
Fall
of
the
Old
Firm’,
New
Statesman,
March
18,
2012
<http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2012/03/celtic-­‐firm-­‐rangers-­‐football>
[10
January
2015]
64
S.
Bruce,
The
Secularisation
of
Scotland,
International
Journal
for
the
Study
of
the
Christian
Church,
14.2
(2014),
p.202.

26. POLI401
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Student
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regional
or
religious
passions.
Football
clubs
have
become
causes
in
themselves.65
FC
Barcelona
and
Real
Madrid’s
dominance
within
the
upper
echelons
of
Spanish
top-­‐flight
football
has
largely
been
supported
by
a
significant
imbalance
in
television
revenue.
In
the
Spanish
La
Liga,
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona
earned
€140
million
each
during
the
2013-­‐14
season;
7.7
times
more
than
those
who
collected
the
smallest
amounts.
Even
the
2013/14
league
champions,
Atletico
Madrid
–
the
only
team
to
have
successfully
broken
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona’s
duopoly
throughout
the
past
ten
years
–
earned
a
mere
€42
million.
In
comparison,
Cardiff
City,
the
team
that
finished
last
in
the
English
Premier
League
in
the
same
season,
collected
an
incredible
€32.5
million
more
in
television
rights.66
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona’s
financial
superiority
is
by
no
means
confined
to
the
Spanish
top
flight.
Indeed,
in
January
2015,
Real
Madrid
matched
its
10th
triumph
as
champions
of
Europe
by
topping
the
Deloitte
football
rich-­‐list
for
a
tenth
successive
year,
after
experiencing
revenues
worth
€549.5million.
Meanwhile,
FC
Barcelona
(€484.6m)
ranked
in
the
top
five,
having
fallen
behind
Manchester
United
(€518m)
and
Bayern
Munich
(€487.5m).67
65
Kuper
66
J.
Jiminez,
‘Cardiff
earned
32.5m
euros
more
than
Atleti
in
TV
money’,
AS,
February
10,
2015
<http://as.com/diarioas/2015/02/10/english/1423555339_842609.html>
[accessed
10
March
2015]
67
Deloitte,
‘Commercial
Breaks:
Football
Money
Leagues’,
January,
2015,
p.7
<http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/sports-­‐business-­‐
group/deloitte-­‐football-­‐money-­‐league-­‐2015.PDF>
[accessed
27
February
2015]

27. POLI401
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Student
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Similarly,
in
Scotland,
Rangers
and
Celtic
find
themselves
almost
in
a
financial
league
of
their
own.
The
1998
four-­‐year
television
deal
with
BSkyB
saw
the
Old
Firm
clubs
generate
between
£2
million
and
£2.5
million
each,
while
the
remaining
clubs
received
approximately
£600,000
per
season
from
the
same
agreement.68
These
figures
may
mark
a
stark
disparity,
but
the
importance
of
the
Old
Firm,
from
a
media
perspective,
becomes
more
prominent
when
considering
the
fixture’s
importance
to
the
perception
of
Scottish
football
as
a
whole.
Indeed,
prior
to
Rangers
entering
insolvency,
the
Scottish
Premier
League
had
signed
a
five-­‐year
television
deal
worth
£80million
with
Sky
Sports
and
ESPN.
According
to
Neil
Doncaster,
Chief
Executive
of
the
SFL,
this
deal
included
a
clause,
which
depended
on
Celtic
and
Rangers
remaining
in
the
league.
It
was
also
a
requirement
that
they
play
each
other
four
times
a
season.69
Following
Rangers’
demotion
to
the
third
division
in
2012,
the
SFL
was
forced
to
agree
a
new
deal
with
Sky
Sports.70
The
Daily
Record
reported
that
the
absence
of
Rangers
from
top
flight
cost
the
SFL
an
incredible
£17million,
with
the
new
five-­‐year
agreement
being
settled
at
£63million.71
68
R.
Boyle
and
R.
Haynes,
Football
in
the
New
Media
Age
(London:
Routledge,
2004),
p.121
69
M.
Wilson,
‘£80m
jackpot!
Doncaster
joy
as
SPL
lands
bumper
new
broadcast
deal’,
Daily
Mail,
November
21,
2011
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-­‐
2064512/Scottish-­‐Premier-­‐League-­‐agree-­‐new-­‐80m-­‐TV-­‐deal.html>
[accessed
10
March
2015]
70
BBC
Sport,
‘Sky
reveals
new
SPL
TV
deal
for
five
years’,
BBC
Sport,
July
31,
2012
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19070877>
[accessed
10
March
2015]
71
C.
Swan,
‘Massive
cash
blow
for
SPL
as
they
lose
£17m
in
new
TV
deal’,
Daily
Record,
August
1,
2012
<http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/spl-­‐loses-­‐17m-­‐in-­‐tv-­‐deal-­‐
1198156>
[accessed
10
March
2015]

28. POLI401
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O’Brien
states,
‘television’s
power
to
shape,
define
and
reinforce
cultural
and
ethnic
identities,
to
harness
and
manipulate
the
nostalgic
residue
of
folklores,
alongside
other
significant
changes
in
how
the
game
is
mediated,
has
changed
the
cultural
constructs
of
rivalry
for
both
clubs.’72
While
he
focuses
primarily
on
the
cultural
constructs
behind
competitive
football
in
Spain,
this
statement
is
true
for
both
El
Clásico
and
the
Old
Firm
rivalry.
Indeed,
the
media
have
played
a
significant
role
in
maintaining
and
heightening
the
rivalry
between
FC
Barcelona
and
Real
Madrid,
but
not
necessarily
through
the
means
of
an
identity-­‐focused
narrative.
Due
to
the
economic
repercussion
and
the
global
impact
of
the
clubs
involved,
El
Clásico
has
gained
unprecedented
press
attention.
Season
after
season,
as
Real
Madrid
and
FC
Barcelona
have
continued
to
battle
for
the
Spanish
league
title,
these
factors
have
ultimately
fuelled
the
sense
of
rivalry
between
the
two
sides.
Lopez-­‐Gonzalez
et
al’s
study
into
how
the
online
sport
journalism
in
Spain
manufactures
conflict
narratives
on
El
Clásico,
posed
interesting
findings.
This
thesis
challenged
the
presumed
national
identity
approach
in
journalistic
discourse.
The
sample
was
composed
of
the
website
edition
of
four
major
Spanish
newspapers,
mundodeportivo.com
and
marca.com
as
sports
newspapers,
and
lavanguardia.com
and
elpais.com
as
broadsheets.
The
study
began
24
days
prior
to
the
date
of
the
game,
10th
December
2011,
72
O’Brien,
p.326

29. POLI401
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26
and
continued
for
10
days
afterwards.
280
‘front
pages’
were
examined.
Lopez-­‐Gonzalez
et
al
found
that
the
conceptualization
of
the
rivalry
did
not
relate
to
the
national
identity
clash,
and,
in
fact,
no
news
was
codified
under
this
theme.
Conflict
constriction
in
the
build-­‐up
to
the
10th
December
2011
Clásico
was
essentially
based
on
a
few
individuals,
namely
the
main
players
and
team
managers.
It
was
therefore
concluded,
that
Spanish
online
newspapers
do
not
manufacture
an
identity-­‐orientated
discourse.73
This
is
not
to
say
that
an
identity
conflict
does
not
exist,
or
that
it
is
not
somehow
implicit
in
the
news,
but
it
offers
a
strong
affirmation
that
the
traditional
narrative
has
become
little
more
than
a
background
story
in
contemporary
reportage.
The
case
in
Glasgow
could
not
be
more
different.
A
similar
media
discourse
thesis,
aimed
at
investigating
the
prominence
of
sectarian
tension
in
contemporary
Scotland,
revealed
more
shocking
results.
This
article,
written
by
Kelly,
analysed
the
Scottish
press,
claiming
that,
rather
than
being
passive,
its
position
regarding
sectarianism
is
active.74
He
argues
that,
‘Although
Rangers
has
Protestant
linkages
and
Celtic
Catholic
linkages,
the
Scottish
press’s
apolitical
and
historically
deficient
linear
determined
73
H.
Lopez-­‐Gonzalez,
‘Manufacturing
conflict
narratives
in
Real
Madrid
versus
Barcelona
football
matches’,
International
Review
for
the
Sociology
of
Sport,
49.6
(2012),
p.702
74
J.
Kelly,
‘‘Sectarianism’
and
Scottish
football:
Critical
reflections
on
dominant
discourse
and
press
commentary’,
International
Review
for
the
Sociology
of
Sport,
46.4
(2010),
p.430

30. POLI401
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approach,
which
posits
‘Protestant
Rangers’
against
‘Catholic
Celtic’,
mystifies
rather
than
clarifies
understanding.’75
This
perception
is
supported
by
findings
in
a
2003
NFO
Social
Research
report
entitled
‘Sectarianism
in
Glasgow’,
which,
centred
on
a
survey
of
a
representative
sample
of
1,000
adults
in
Glasgow.
It
revealed
that
a
number
of
participants
saw
the
media
as
actively
fuelling
sectarianism
in
Glasgow.
In
particular,
newspaper
reportage
around
the
time
of
Old
Firm
matches
was
seen
as
stirring
up
sectarian
feelings
among
football
fans.76
Indeed,
Kelly’s
findings
can
be
explained
with
relative
ease.
Unlike
El
Clásico,
this
rivalry
is
not
dominated
by
the
biggest
names
in
the
world
game,
nor
by
a
particularly
elite
standard
of
football.
As
McCarra
states,
the
rivalry
between
Rangers
and
Celtic
is
‘an
ever
more
severe
struggle
that
holds
ever
less
interest
for
anyone
outside
the
west
of
Scotland’,
although
he
fails
to
account
for
the
two
club’s
support
in
areas
of
Ireland/Northern
Ireland.
He
notes
‘a
danger
that
the
Old
Firm
rivalry
may
become
the
sole
context
in
which
each
club
exists’. 77
Consequently,
the
media
resort
to
the
traditional,
emotion-­‐
provoking
sectarian
division
as
the
major
selling
point
in
their
articles.
This
is
one
of
few
factors
keeping
the
narrative
going.
75
ibid,
p.421
76
NFO
Social
Research,
‘Sectarianism
in
Glasgow
–
Final
Report’,
January,
2003,
p.52
<https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=9735&p=0>
[accessed
20
March
2015]
77
Kuper

31. POLI401
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Themes
of
violence
and
extremism
have
run
concurrent
in
the
history
of
both
the
Old
Firm
and
El
Clásico,
with
the
formation
of
Ultra
groups
intensifying
the
battle
in
the
political
arena.
Both
Celtic
and
Rangers
have
experienced
high
profile
altercations
with
football
authorities
because
of
sectarian
incidents,
and
both
clubs
have
openly
admitted
to
a
problem
with
sectarianism.78
In
2011,
former
Celtic
manager
Neil
Lennon
was
sent
a
parcel
bomb.79
While,
in
2008,
Rangers
striker
Nacho
Novo
claimed
that
he
had
received
death
threats.80
Although
the
clichéd
characterization
of
Celtic
being
the
Catholic
club
and
Rangers
their
Protestant
rivals
may
no
longer
reflect
the
wider
realities
of
life
in
Glasgow,
a
hard
core
among
each
support
still
clings
jealously
to
these
identities.
Chants
containing
the
lyrics
‘we're
up
to
our
knees
in
Fenian
(a
group
of
nineteenth
century
Irish
revolutionaries)
blood,
surrender
or
you'll
die’
–
from
the
infamous
Billy
Boys
song
-­‐
and
‘Why
don’t
you
go
home’
–
The
Famine
song
-­‐
can
still
be
heard
on
match
days.
This
phenomenon
-­‐
the
fan
who
espouses
extreme
political
and
religious
opinions
when
at
the
match
but
not
in
other
aspects
of
their
daily
life
–
is
known
in
Scotland
as
the
90-­‐minute
bigot.81
78
BBC
News,
‘Bigotry
Puzzle
for
Old
Firm’,
BBC
News,
October
11,
2011
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1593970.stm>
[accessed
January
10
2015]
79
J.
Cook,
‘Parcel
bombs
sent
to
Neil
Lennon,
McBride
and
Godman’,
BBC
News,
April
20,
2011
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-­‐scotland-­‐glasgow-­‐west-­‐13129139>
[accessed
10
March
2015]
80
The
Telegraph,
‘Rangers’
Nacho
Novo
has
received
death
threats
from
fans
of
Old
Firm
rivals
Celtic’,
The
Telegraph,
October
5,
2008
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/3139867/Rangers-­‐Nacho-­‐
Novo-­‐has-­‐received-­‐death-­‐threats-­‐from-­‐fans-­‐of-­‐Old-­‐Firm-­‐rivals-­‐Celtic-­‐Football.html>
[accessed
15
March
2015]
81
E.
Macguire,
‘Old
Firm
reunited:
Do
Celtic
and
Rangers
need
one
another?’,
CNN,
February
11,
2015
<http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/30/football/old-­‐firm-­‐reunited/>
[accessed
10
March
2015]

32. POLI401
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One
of
the
predominant
topics
of
discussion
of
sectarianism
in
the
focus
groups
conducted
by
the
NFO
was
the
rivalry
between
Rangers
and
Celtic,
which
represented
more
than
just
a
sporting
rivalry.
For
some,
the
role
of
football
was
so
significant
that
it
was
felt
to
have
replaced
religion
as
the
source
and
focus
of
sectarian
attitudes
and
behaviours.
Around
half
of
the
survey
respondents
agreed
that
sectarianism
‘is
almost
entirely
confined
to
football’.
This
is
not
to
suggest
that
support
for
Rangers
or
Celtic
is
sectarian
in
itself
but
it
shows
a
strong
link
between
religious
bigotry
and
football
in
Glasgow.82
One
participant
is
quoted
as
saying,
‘what
I
feel
spurs
it
on
is
the
football.
I
don’t
know
if
the
religion
itself
is
a
problem…
I
think
in
Glasgow
in
particular
it’s
not
so
much
the
religion
as
the
football
that
I
think
seems
to
just
hype
it
up.’
While
another
participant
said,
‘If
we’re
talking
just
about
Glasgow,
it
isn’t
a
religious
thing
…It’s
a
football
team
thing.’83
Nonetheless,
there
appears
to
be
no
clear
consensus
on
whether
such
violence
is
sectarian
in
nature,
or
whether
it
is
simply
sporadic
football
violence,
similar
to
that
which
is
viewed
as
mindless
hooliganism
elsewhere.
In
fact,
37%
of
participants
disagreed
with
the
notion
that
sectarianism
‘is
almost
entirely
confined
to
football’.84
A
2006
study,
looking
into
the
problems
of
sectarianism
within
Scottish
Football,
revealed
that
fans
generally
believed
that
the
Old
Firm
clubs
were
82
NFO
Social
Research,
p.56
83
ibid,
pp.10-­‐11
84
ibid,
p.12

33. POLI401
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wedded
to
the
issue
of
sectarianism,
because
of
the
financial
gain
they
are
thought
to
have
benefitted
from.
Many
fans
believe
that
there
is
an
economic
edge
to
continuing
this
religion-­‐based
tension,
and
consequently,
they
hold
serious
doubts
about
the
real
intentions
of
the
Old
Firm.
The
vast
majority
adopted
a
general
pessimism
or
cynicism
that
anything
effective
will
be
done
to
moderate
or
eliminate
the
display
of
sectarian
sentiments
in
Scottish
football.85
Similarly,
the
2003
Glasgow
City
Council
report
revealed
similar
findings,
as
stated
by
one
participant:
‘The
biggest
culprits
of
sectarianism
in
this
city
are
the
two
football
teams,
Rangers
and
Celtic.
They
keep
it
going.
They’re
all
about
business
and
about
keeping
sectarianism
going.’86
These
studies,
of
course,
came
prior
to
legislation
enforced
in
2012,
aimed
at
tackling
sectarianism
and
offensive
behaviour
at
football
matches.
This
gave
police
and
prosecutors
additional
powers
to
crack
down
on
sectarian
songs
and
abuse,
as
well
as
threatening
behaviour
posted
on
the
Internet
or
via
mail.87
Interestingly,
of
the
religiously
aggravated
offences
reported
to
the
Procurator
Fiscal
in
2012-­‐13
–
the
first
Scottish
Premier
League
season
conducted
within
the
boundaries
of
this
new
legislation
-­‐
only
16%
were
85
H.
Moorhouse,
‘Consultation
with
Football
Supporters
on
Problems
of
Sectarianism
within
Scottish
Football:
a
Report
to
the
Scottish
Executive’,
October
13,
2006
<http://www.gov.scot/resource/doc/175356/0119482.pdf>
[accessed
20
February
2015]
86
NFO
Social
Research,
p.40
87
BBC
News,
‘Anti-­‐bigot
laws
passed
by
the
Scottish
Parliament’,
BBC
News,
December
14,
2011
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-­‐scotland-­‐scotland-­‐politics-­‐16138683>
[accessed
10
January
2015]