In Glasgow, it was always Protestant or Catholic, Unionist or Republican, Rangers or Celtic. You were one or the other. Today, the city is increasingly secular, but its fiercely sectarian history remains entrenched on the soccer pitch. Countless assaults and even murders stem from Old Firm tensions, with increased rates of domestic violence on derby days. And so, when the Rangers signed their first high-profile Catholic player, ex-Celtic striker Maurice “Mo” Johnston, on July 10, 1989—117 years after the club’s inception—it was a truly seismic moment. Bill McMurdo, Johnston’s agent and the man who negotiated the transfer from French club Nantes to Rangers, relives it.
“It’s been 24 years since [Johnston] signed for Rangers. Every single day since, someone has come up to me in the street and mentioned that signing. Sometimes it happens 10 times a day. They’ll tell me exactly where they were when it happened. It’s a JFK moment in football.
“The day that he signed, [we flew] to Tuscany, where Rangers used to train every summer. Within 24 hours, the place was inundated with press from all over the world. On the second day, a London journalist said, ‘Bill, we’ll give you £20,000 if you let me get a photo of him inside a chapel in Italy.
Just a couple of months earlier, it appeared Johnston was going to return to Celtic—only for the club to botch the paperwork.
“Maurice was a Celtic legend. They absolutely loved him. When they thought he was coming back, they started celebrating in the street. Of course, when he signed for their archrivals, it just killed them. They began calling him Judas. I remember [then–Rangers manager] Graeme Souness saying, ‘Bill, if Johnston signs, Celtic will suffer for the next 10 years.’ And he was right; Rangers won nine championships on the trot.”
“When the news broke [in Glasgow], Rangers supporters went to the club and laid wreaths at the door. They burned their scarves. They threatened to return their season’s tickets, to never set foot in Ibrox again. The only reason that never happened is because he was so good.
“He had a personal security guard for the best part of a year. My house was covered by security personnel for at least six months. I got death threats and things like that.
“My view is that if you’re good enough at football, your religion shouldn’t come into it. It was a magnificent thing to happen. I had no doubt that once he actually played for them, Rangers fans would take to him. Even now, they still talk about him with a reverence.”