Old Firm

The name Old Firm is a collective term for the Glasgwegian football (soccer) clubs, Rangers and Celtic. It is derived from the profitable nature of contests between the two.

Games between the two clubs are characterised by sectarian posturing from both sets of fans, which can and often does spill over into violence. Celtic represent the Scottish Catholic community and Rangers the Protestant community. Old Firm ties have been known to be a flashpoint for sectarian strife in Northern Ireland.

The two clubs are by far and away the biggest in Scotland and are amongst the biggest in the United Kingdom, and indeed the whole of Europe.