By David Herd
This Thursday, Rangers travel to the south of France to play OCG Nice in their fifth fixture in the new-look Europa League group stage. The hosts are not one of the more glamorous sides from the French top division, indeed most modern football fans would struggle to associate them with any significant recent occasions. But Nice are forever written into the history of Rangers FC. They were the club’s first-ever opponents in competitive European competition.
In 1955, the first ever European Cup competition was started, just a year after UEFA had been formed. It might surprise those who haven’t read about the origins of European competition, but UEFA’s first competition was not restricted to only national league winners. The 16 teams who participated were invited to take part in association with the French football newspaper L’Equipe, and invitation was done in a strange combination of national title-winners and “prestige”. This allowed some national associations to overlook their champions, although not all countries opted to nominate anyone. The English champions Chelsea initially accepted the invite to play but withdrew after pressure from the FA who saw the competition as a distraction from the more important national game. In Scotland, the SFA decided that league-winners Aberdeen would not be permitted to take part, instead opting to send Hibs in their place. The Edinburgh side reached the semi-final where they lost to the French champions Stade de Reims. They in turn were defeated by Real Madrid, the Spaniards becoming the first European champions, something they have specialised in ever since.
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By the second year of the tournament, there were 22 teams now taking part, with all of them national champions except Madrid, who were given a place as holders despite finishing third in La Liga. Manchester United accepted their invite, and took part despite the FA asking them to withdraw. And the Scottish representative this time were the title-winners, Scot Symon’s Rangers joining the likes of Fiorentina, Borussia Dortmund, Porto and Anderlecht in the draw. After receiving a bye in the initial preliminary round, Rangers were paired with the champions of France, OCG Nice, with the first leg to be played at Ibrox on Wednesday 24 October 1956.
Foreign travel was still something of a rarity for most of the population in the mid-1950s, with the Nice players enduring a journey that would astonish current professional players. The plan was they would leave Paris airport for London on the Tuesday morning, and from there connect to a flight to Renfrew in the afternoon. But thick fog in the French capital delayed their departure, and when they finally landed on British soil they were confronted with the problem of their scheduled connection having already departed, and not enough seats were left in the only later flight north. To make matters worse, hotels in London were full due to the Motor Show! This meant that the travelling French party booked on the overnight sleeper train from King’s Cross to Edinburgh, with the final leg of their marathon journey a train from Waverley to Glasgow at 6:30am on the day of the game.
Rangers, meanwhile, were marking the occasion by doing something modern fans will recognise. They decided to wear a brand new strip. Manager Symon explained to the press that this new “floodlight strip” was made of shinier and lighter material than the usual heavy cotton jersey, which would allow both the players to see each other better under the lights and the fans to see their heroes clearer too. He told reporters “It has a nice sheen to it and we expect it to sparkle on the field”. One tradition that wasn’t being changed was announcing the team in advance, something that was common in Scottish football until relatively recent times. Symon’s opposite number, the Argentine coach Luis Carniglia preferred to keep his line-up secret till nearer kick-off, although with a travelling party of just 12 players his options to surprise his hosts did seem somewhat limited! This was the first eleven ever to represent Rangers in European competition:
George Niven, Bobby Shearer, Eric Caldow, Ian McColl, George Young, Willie Logie, Alex Scott, Billy Simpson, Max Murray, Sammy Baird, Johnny Hubbard.
Home leg at Ibrox
A crowd of 65,000 were inside the stadium for this historic night, an excellent attendance given the foul weather conditions of heavy rain, strong winds, and even the occasional hailstorm. The man in the middle was English referee Arthur Ellis, a man of great international experience, and who decades later would forge a different refereeing career when he officiated in the BBC gameshow “It’s A Knockout”. He had a busy evening. For the majority of a bad-tempered game, Ellis watched on as various players got involved in feuds and fights, with countless examples of both over physical tackles and blatant retaliation. How the match ended with eleven players still in each side was something of a mystery. The Glasgow Herald match report summed it up by describing “a series of bouts of hacking and on more than one occasion a threatened bout of fisticuffs”. An exasperated Ellis eventually resorted to stopping the game early in the second half and calling all the players to him for a warning on the consequences for the game finishing should the chaos continue.
The first goal scored at Ibrox in a European club tournament came along in the 23rd minute, when some football broke out amongst the skirmishing. And despite Rangers being the team who had created the better chances, it was French outside left Jacques Faivre who beat Niven with a clever finish. This setback briefly silenced the crowd, but they were soon roaring again as Rangers redoubled their efforts. It took 17 minutes for their pressure to be rewarded, when centre forward Max Murray became the first Rangers player to score in a UEFA tournament. Sammy Baird played a neat pass into the penalty area, referee Ellis ignored the sight of Billy Simpson being wrestled to the ground to prevent him getting near the ball, and Murray made any penalty claims academic by tucking the ball past goalkeeper Dominique Colonna.
The second half saw just the one goal, a Rangers winner scored on the hour mark. The man who got it was the club’s top goalscorer of the 1950s, Ulster’s Billy Simpson powering an unstoppable header into the net from a Murray cross. The home team were then on top, until a bizarre intervention from the English referee. With still seven minutes remaining, and Nice holding on grimly to their one-goal deficit, Ellis blew his whistle for full-time. The players left the pitch, with the crowd loudly jeering the official as they knew he had made a serious timekeeping error. He was told of his mistake once up the tunnel, and was forced to visit both dressing rooms to inform the players they had to return to the action for another few minutes!
Eric Caldow by now was in the bath, and he was last man back out on the field as the spectators looked on in disbelief. But this interruption had killed the attacking momentum Rangers were building, and when Ellis ended the contest for a second time the scoreline remained at 2-1. The French team left Glasgow early the next morning, this time on a flight rather than a train. They expressed themselves satisfied with the result and were confident they would overhaul the Scots in the return leg. The French press were more focussed on the roughhouse tactics employed by both teams, with L’Equipedescribing it as a match of “extraordinary violence”. With just a week till the rematch, it seemed unlikely there would be sufficient time for grudges to ease and tempers to cool down.
As it transpired, the return game did not take place till three weeks after the Ibrox encounter. Rangers flew out of Renfrew airport on Halloween to travel to France for the original match date of November 1st, but the game was postponed just hours before kick-off when torrential rain and severe thunderstorms battered the south of France, flooding the Nice playing surface.
On 14 November, Symon decided to entrust the same starting eleven on the Cote d’Azur as had played in the opener, but Carniglia had star striker Joseph Ujlaki now available and the Hungarian-born French internationalist brought extra firepower to the Nice attack. Italian Ricardo Pieri replaced Ellis as the man in the middle, and just as in the Ibrox match, the referee would make plenty headlines again. There were just over 8,000 inside the Stade Du Ray in Nice when the referee sounded the opening whistle, and before long they realised they were going to witness another full-blooded and violent encounter.
Away leg in Nice
Rangers’ inexperienced defender Willie Logie was at the centre of the early action, badly mistiming a tackle on local hero Ujlaki in the opening minutes, and then being the victim of a mob of angry Nice players who seemed to take turns at lashing out at him. The tone was set, it would be another match where battles without the ball were as common as those involving actual football. The Argentine contingent in the Nice team seemed to be at the centre of most of the off-the-ball incidents, captain “Pancho” Gonzalez leading by example, committing a series of bad fouls as well as encouraging his teammates to surround the referee whenever a decision went against his team.
In muddy and wet conditions, Rangers gave as good as they got in the physical stuff and started to create the better chances. And just five minutes before the interval, they were presented with the ideal opportunity to extend their lead. Murray was brutally chopped down in the penalty area by a lunging Gonzalez tackle, giving the referee no option but to point to the spot. The clearcut nature of the award wasn’t enough to prevent the home players furiously jostling the official, meaning the kick was delayed a good two minutes. But Rangers had The Penalty King in their ranks, and after calm was restored, Johnny Hubbard made his usual impeccable job of the kick.
And the tie could have been as good as over moments later. A Hubbard corner was headed into the net by Murray to spark wild celebrations from the Rangers players, only for the referee to signal the goal would not stand. Much to the dismay of the Scots, Signore Pieri told them he had blown for half-time before Murray’s head had connected to the ball. It was a major escape for the home team, and they would go on to take full advantage of this massive good fortune.
Rangers had the chances early in the second half to kill the tie, but things turned on another moment of luck for the French. An hour had elapsed when Argentinian forward Ruben Bravo had a great chance to score, but he totally fluffed his shot as the ball slowed in the mud just as he was about to strike. His hopelessly miscued shot could have gone anywhere, but it flew sideways and straight to the feet of teammate Alberto Muro. The fellow Argentine played it back into the middle where Bravo diverted it beyond Niven. It was a goal that no amount of defensive training could have prevented, the Rangers defenders looking on in disbelief as their seemingly secure two-goal lead had been halved.
And as they were still scratching their heads wondering what had just happened, Nice struck again. A pinpoint cross found the head of the unmarked Jacques Foix, and he dispatched the ball into the Rangers net giving Niven no chance. Two minutes of madness had undone all the Rangers good work, and now they had almost half an hour to survive as Nice went for the winner. Rangers had to defend well, and their solid rearguard frustrated the home team to the point where the referee was being harassed constantly to give free kicks every time a Nice player lost the ball. Gonzalez was one of three Nice players booked as the clock started ticking towards full-time, the skipper very lucky to stay on the park after appearing to push the Italian official when being told of his caution.
Then, with six minutes left came the last moment of controversy, and the incident that gave Willie Logie an unwelcome place in the Rangers history books. The big defender raced out wide to tackle the speedy Muro and flew into the tackle. Once committed on the sodden surface his sliding challenge couldn’t be stopped, and as well as winning the ball he clattered the Nice player. This prompted an angry reaction from not one, but two Argentinians. Muro jumped up to confront the Rangers man and swung a punch that missed the target. As Logie squared up to his aggressor, he was ambushed by Bravo, who did connect with a right hook. Players from both sides quickly intervened and separated the protagonists before any further blows could be aimed. The referee then arrived to decide on punishment, and his decision was to dismiss Bravo and Logie, with Muro escaping any sanction. Logie became the first Rangers player to be sent off in a European match.
The two players reacted in very different ways. Logie immediately headed for the dressing room and was off the pitch within seconds of being told his fate. Bravo, however, was not for accepting the decision of the referee. The forward refused to leave the field, angrily remonstrating with the referee, with several of his teammates joining him in jostling the official. For a few seconds, it looked as if there could be significant unrest, with the home supporters as furious as their players, the officials looking very alone. Eventually Bravo had to accept the inevitable, but he continued his protestations by heading to the bench rather than the changing room, and sitting with a raincoat draped over his shoulders while drawing daggers at the referee from the sidelines.
With Bravo waving his encouragement, the home fans started to surge towards the playing surface, a pitch invasion only prevented by a line of overworked gendarmes. When the referee decided enough was enough and blew the final whistle, he was escorted from the pitch by a cordon of policemen, missiles flying from the irate home fans. The aggregate score was 3-3, and in the infancy of UEFA competition, there was no method of settling a tied scoreline on the night. There was no extra 30 minutes (mercifully for the referee), and this was long before away goals or penalty shootouts had been invented. It meant a playoff match was required, with the date and venue to be agreed in the coming days.
Rangers were hoping for a December date in London, but the authorities decided to side with the French argument for a quicker resolution to the tie, setting the date for the decider for November 28th, just two weeks later. The venue also seemed to suit Nice, with the Parc de Princes in Paris given the nod. These days, both Logie and Bravo would have received a lengthy suspension from UEFA and missed the match. But in 1956, the competition rules stated that any player sent off in the European Cup would have any suspension decided by their national association. Neither the Scottish or the French authorities issued any sanction, so both players were available.
Play off game in Paris
A player who wasn’t available, however, was the Rangers team captain and inspiration, George Young. The veteran skipper of club and country had picked up a thigh injury ten days previously against Falkirk, and had missed the weekend win over Aberdeen. He travelled to Paris, and was given a fitness test on the morning of the game. But he lasted just minutes, pulling up in some pain and giving in to the inevitable. His place at the heart of the defence against The Dons had gone to Harold Davis, the summer signing from East Fife. The former Black Watch soldier made his debut in royal blue and had filled in impressively. A young man who had survived horror injuries in the Korean War, he was now entrusted to deal with the expected dirty tricks of the Nice forwards. Max Murray also needed a fitness test on the morning of the match, but unlike his captain, he was passed fit and named in his usual place up front.
Nice were unchanged from their win a fortnight before, and had the backing of almost the entire 15,000 crowd in the French capital. In these early days of continental competition, another significant difference from 2024 was the small number who travelled abroad to watch Rangers. After the mayhem of the first two matches, many in the Paris crowd were possibly there to witness more carnage, but the first half was relatively free of foul play and it meant football could finally be enjoyed. Rangers had their chances to take the lead, but goalkeeper Colonna was in superb form, foiling Hubbard and Simpson with breathtaking stops. But it wasn’t all one-way, the Rangers goal surviving a few scares too as the quick French forwards gave the Rangers defence plenty problems. The first goal looked as if it would be crucial, and when it arrived in 40 minutes, it was George Niven who was picking the ball out of the net. The Hungarian-born Ujlaki was the creator, splitting the Rangers defence with a perfectly weighted pass into the path of the man who had scored the winner in Nice. Foix never looked like missing, his unerring finish was behind Niven before the keeper could react.
A goal down at the interval, Rangers were staring at early elimination. But they finally got the kind of luck that had deserted them in the previous game. Just five minutes after the restart, Sammy Baird hit a low cross from out wide, the ball seemingly heading towards the hands of Colonna. But inexplicably, defender Gilbert Bonvin intervened, hammering the ball into his own net as he presumably tried to clear the ball for a corner. It looked like a turning point, but it was the French champions who raised their game, and they turned their dominance into goals.
The OGC Nice squad from 56/57
It was the man sent off along with Logie who scored the killer second goal, Bravo taking advantage of some terrible hesitancy in the Rangers defence to thump the ball past Niven. This was just three minutes after the Rangers equaliser, and it took the wind out of the Rangers sails. And it was no surprise when the tie was finally killed off after 75 minutes, when Faivre scored the last goal of the tie after having scored the first one at Ibrox five weeks earlier.
At 3-1 down, the game was up. But there was still time for one more pitched battle. Belgian referee Luc van Nuffel had enjoyed a relatively easy evening, probably to his surprise. But with ten minutes left, all hell would again break loose. A pass was played down the Rangers right which was chased by Muro, a man who had been involved in many of the unsavoury incidents over the previous matches. Rangers full back Bobby Shearer sped across to tackle him, but got there slightly late – and clobbered the Argentine. Muro was sent flying through the air, landing in a crumpled heap and lay motionless. He was eventually wheeled off the pitch on a medical trolley, the angry French team reduced to ten players for the rest of the match. As Muro lay on the grass, Shearer was surrounded by Nice players, with Bravo repeating his actions from the previous match and throwing a punch at Shearer. It landed on Bobby’s chin, but Mr Shearer was not a man to lie down, he made to land a haymaker of his own, only for his captain Ian McColl to arrive and usher him away from the centre of the action. Players from both sides confronted each other, as the Belgian referee finally got involved.
His decision was greeted by sheer disbelief. Shearer, whose “robust” challenge had started the whole incident, escaped without a word. Bravo and McColl were booked, with the only logical explanation being that the referee had thought McColl was the original perpetrator and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Meanwhile, a seemingly lifeless Muro was being wheeled down the tunnel, surrounded by press photographers and police.
The last few minutes were a return to the lawlessness of the other matches, M. van Nuffel happy to blow for full time and get off the pitch. When the Nice players got back to their dressing room, they were greeted warmly by teammate Muro, who celebrated their victory as wildly as anyone, his apparently serious injuries miraculously cured. Rangers were out, their first foray in European competition ended at the first hurdle in a series of matches that would not live long in the memory of the football purist. And after a seemingly brutal and hostile series of matches, the two teams got together that evening for a friendly dinner at a Paris hotel, where the Rangers club officials congratulated the victors and wished them every success in the competition.
The 1956-57 Rangers squad
Nice were drawn to play holders Real Madrid in the next round, losing home and away to the team who would not only retain the trophy, but would win the first five European Cup competitions. They would win the French title in 1959, their fourth championship of the decade, but this would be the peak years in their club’s history as they have never been champions of France since then.
Rangers, of course, have been European regulars since 1956, and have reached five finals, with the 1972 European Cup-Winners’ Cup triumph the only time a trophy has been lifted. The last of these finals was just over two years ago, but it already seems to be in the distant past. One more win in the 2024/25 Europa League group would likely see Philippe Clement’s men reach the playoff round in the spring. With a couple of seriously tough fixtures to come next, getting that win on Thursday in Nice would be perfect. It won’t be high on the priorities of the current squad or the thousands who are travelling to the south of France, but a win would also get belated revenge for the club’s first-ever European defeat. Time will tell if that revenge is achieved, but it’s a pretty good bet that the chaos of 1956 won’t be repeated this time!