Dubai Champions Cup
The Dubai Champions Cup (originally called the Dubai Super Cup) was an annual association football match contested between the champions of the English and Scottish leagues. The competition took place for three consecutive seasons from 1986–87 to 1988–89 in the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai,[1] during the time when English football clubs were banned from taking part in UEFA club competitions as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.[2]
| Dubai Super Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United Arab Emirates |
| City | Dubai |
| Teams | Two: Football League champions Scottish Football League champions |
History
The first match took place on 9 December 1986 at the Al Wasl Stadium between English champions Liverpool and Scottish champions Celtic. The match finished 1–1, with Liverpool winning 4–2 on a penalty shoot-out.[3][4]
English champions Everton and Scottish champions Rangers played the match the following year in December 1987. Rangers came from two goals behind to level the match after 90 minutes at 2–2. This was despite referee Keith Cooper disallowing six goals for the Ibrox club during the game. Rangers went on to win 8–7 on penalty kicks.[5][6][7]
The final match took place on 4 April 1989 at the Al-Nasar Stadium. The competition was now renamed the Dubai Champions Cup and featured the same sides that took part in 1986; Liverpool and Celtic. Once again the match finished level after 90 minutes, 1–1; this time Celtic won 4–2 on penalty kicks.[8][9][10]
1986–87
| Celtic | 1–1 | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
Archdeacon  50' |
Hansen 89' |
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| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 | ||
Teams
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1987–88
| Rangers | 2–2 | Everton |
|---|---|---|
| Fleck 80' McCoist 87' |
Sheedy 24' Watson 65' |
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| Penalties | ||
| 8–7 | ||
Teams
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1988–89
Teams
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References
- Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1992). A Celtic A - Z. Greenfield Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 095195010X.
- Bloomfield, Craig (18 October 2011). "Celtic's Hillsborough tribute, rare footage of Rangers v Everton and more Old Firm matches with English clubs". talkSport. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- Cameron, Alex (10 December 1986). "Celts in a spot". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- "Celtic rise to challenge but lose on penalties". The Glasgow Herald. 10 December 1986. p. 24. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- Hilton, Nick (7 December 2012). "Battle of Britain". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Reynolds, Jim (9 December 1987). "Rangers strike 16 times for gold". The Glasgow Herald. p. 24. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- Wilson, Fraser (20 March 2018). "The day Rangers defeated Everton in Dubai despite having SIX goals disallowed to become unofficial champions of Britain". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- McNee, Gerry (7 April 1989). "Stark spot-on in the desert". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- "Stark finds a sweet spot for Celtic's desert kings". The Glasgow Herald. 5 April 1989. p. 28. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- Young, Graeme (17 March 2018). "When Celtic faced Liverpool in the Middle East and became British champions". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
