The 1971–72 British Home Championship was the first such Home Nations football tournament (although not the last), to suffer during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, when death threats from the Provisional Irish Republican Army were sent to the Scottish Football Association and Scottish players who were scheduled to play at Windsor Park. The surge in anti-British feeling which prompted these threats followed Bloody Sunday in January, and also resulted in the cancellation of the rugby union 1972 Five Nations Championship. As a result, Northern Ireland's home fixture was rescheduled to Hampden Park, effectively granting the Scottish team an extra home match. This was not the last time that The Troubles would interfere with the Home Championship; the 1981 British Home Championship would have to be abandoned following similar heightened tension after the death of Bobby Sands.

Quick Facts Tournament details, Dates ...
1971–72 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Dates20–27 May 1972
Teams4
Final positions
Champions England (47th title)
 Scotland (38th title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored8 (1.33 per match)
Top scorer(s)Scotland Peter Lorimer (2)
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Scotland used their home advantage well, securing victory over the Irish and Welsh to take a major points advantage into the final match against England, who had lost at home to Northern Ireland following a heavy defeat of Wales. In the last match however, England gained a slight advantage over their old rivals, winning 1–0 and thus equalling the tournament on points and resulting in a shared victory (goal difference was not at this stage used to differentiate between teams). The Welsh salvaged a point in their final home game to Northern Ireland, but still finished bottom of the table.

Table

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 England (C) 3 2 0 1 4 1 +3 4
 Scotland (C) 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 4
 Northern Ireland 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 3
 Wales 3 0 1 2 0 4 4 1
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Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Co-champions

Results

More information Wales, 0–3 ...
Wales 0–3 England
Hughes 25'
Marsh 60'
Bell 61'
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Attendance: 34,000
Referee: William Mullan (Scotland)

More information Scotland, 2–0 ...
Close
Attendance: 39,710
Referee: Clive Thomas (Wales)

More information England, 0–1 ...
Close
Attendance: 64,000
Referee: John Gow (Wales)

More information Scotland, 1–0 ...
Scotland 1–0 Wales
Lorimer 78'
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Attendance: 21,332
Referee: James Lawther (Northern Ireland)

More information Wales, 0–0 ...
Close
Attendance: 15,647
Referee: Jack Taylor (England)

More information Scotland, 0–1 ...
Scotland 0–1 England
Ball 28'
Close
Attendance: 119,325

References

  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

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