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Celtic Games – Intercontinental Club Cup (1st Leg)
Matches
Trivia
- Jimmy Johnstone faced the SFA Disciplinary Committee on the Monday over his sending off in the St Johnstone game. They suspended him for 21 days starting on Thursday. That meant that he could play in this game but would be suspended for the Scotland International against Ireland for which he had already been picked. By rights he would also miss the second leg in Buenos Aires. The likelihood was that Jinky would be dropped and Charlie Gallacher was included in the squad.
- Racing had already arrived in Scotland on the weekend before the game and were training at Hampden whilst Jinky, accompanied by Jock Stein, was facing the Referees’ Committee at Park Gardens.
- The lead up to the game based on the Press and notices of the time was rather low key. Though Celtic had been promised a week’s preparation thay had had to fulfil the fixture against Partick Thistle on the weekend. For their part the Argentinians complained about the cold, the bouncy turf and the rain, saying that when it rained games in Argentina were cancelled!
- The Argentine no 11, Maschio, was in a similar situation to Jimmy Johnstone. He had been sent off in a League game in Argentina and was banned for 6 domestic games. However his ban did not extend to international or ‘world’ games and he was free to play in this and the 2nd Leg.
- The above point complicated Johnstone’s ban by the SFA. The problem was the rules within the Intercontinental Club Competition and their interpretation. By the SFA’s interpretation Johnstone was banned for the 2nd leg. Robert Kelly believed that a domestic suspension would not apply to an Intercontinental Cup game, as it would not also apply to a European Cup game. Therefore Celtic were prepared to play Johnstone in the 2nd Leg. The final say in the matter was left to the committee who organised the World Championship. The whole matter came down to the interpretation of the word ‘eligibility’.
- The Racing players were said to be on a £2000 per man bonus if they beat Celtic over both legs. That amounts to about £33,000 by today’s standards.
- 1st leg of two games.The SFA had offered Hampden Park as venue for the home leg as it was able to hold more people and was the No. 1 venue in Scotland. The game was not an all-ticket game and punters could pay at the turnstiles.
Review
The first leg was played at Hamden in front of 90,000 fans who had been given due notice of their tactics. They tripped, kicked and spat on the Celtic players. When Jimmy Johnston returned to the dressing room at half time his hair was matted with spit from his callous opponents. Celtic players didn’t even have to be in possession of the ball to receive such treatment. The Argentinians would do it in passing, and when the referee wasn’t looking. Their number 10 was the main man for dishing it out, but as soon as he struck off he would go and his team mates would rush into the fray and cause as much distraction and confusion while he made his getaway.
Former Celtic director James Farrell believed that Racing’s tactics stemmed from a reserve match played 6 days earlier at Celtic park. They admitted after this game that they were amazed at how talented Celtic’s youngsters were. They knew that night that there would only be one way for their team to beat Celtic.
Celtic somehow managed to keep their heads and Billy McNeil headed the only goal of the game from a John Hughes corner. However as he jumped to head the ball he got an elbow in the eye and sported a black eye for days afterwards.
Teams
1st. leg:
Celtic (Scotland) 1-0 Racing Club (Argentina)
Celtic:
Simpson, Craig, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, Lennox, Wallace, Auld, Hughes.
Scorers: McNeill (69)
Racing Club:
Cejas, Perfumo, Díaz, Martín (c), Mori, Norberto, Raffo, Rulli, Cárdenas, Rodríguez, Maschio.
Scorers:
Referee: Juan Gardeazábal (Spain),
Attendance: 103,000
Pictures
Report from The (London) Times
The Herald, 19/10/67
Evening Times, 19/10/67
