By Dickie Felton | 23 November 2023
In the panic on the terraces Gary Hotchkies, 18, scrambled to safety by scaling a floodlight pylon.
John Sludden, 14, was stuck in the crush outside the ground but his three brothers frantically wrestled him free.
On the terraces Mike Convery, 23, experienced scenes of ‘bedlam’ with fans ‘packed like sardines’.
The pressure was so intense that some supporters in the heaving mass were unable to feel the concrete terracing below them.
Swept along in a sea of bodies, their feet didn’t touch the floor.
Forty-years-ago tonight Celtic supporters travelled in their thousands to support the Hoops against Nottingham Forest in a crucial UEFA Cup third round tie.
Celtic fans in Nottingham. Image Nottingham Evening Post.
But – for those who were there that November night in 1983 – the game would be remembered for the chaotic crowd scenes more than any action on the pitch.
Only by fluke were there no fatalities among the Celtic supporters caged into a hopelessly overcrowded terrace with little means of escape.
The crushing – at the start of the match at the City Ground – would largely go unscrutinised by the authorities. And outside of Glasgow, it was largely forgotten about.
But four decades on, the incident is seen as precursor to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 which led to the unlawful killing of 97 Liverpool fans.
The incident at The City Ground would bear similarities to what happened in the ill-fated FA Cup semi-final six years later.
On the day of the big match the local Evening Post reported that Celtic would bring 150 coach loads of fans, 31 mini-buses and two Football Special trains.
Celtic fans had been allocated a corner of the open-air Bridgford End. And most of their coaches would park directly behind the terrace.
Hundreds of Hoops fans had acquired tickets in home areas of the ground – but during the countdown to kick-off many were denied entry and told to go down to the entrances at the Celtic end.
With a large number of Celtic coaches arriving at the same time, crowds soon built up and police struggled to cope.
As a crush unfolded outside the turnstiles it is understood that police officers decided to open a gate and let all the fans in – despite the terraces being full to capacity already.
Celtic fan Mike Convery: “I was 23 and travelled to Nottingham by car with two mates. It was a freezing cold night and when we got to Nottingham we parked up and headed to the ground.
“Outside, there were hundreds of fans trying to get in the same corner of the ground, and it was bedlam.
“I think the police opened the gates and we all pushed through, once we were in the ground we quickly realised you couldn’t go much further as the away end was fenced off into sections.
“It became obvious that this looked dodgy so we headed as far up the terracing as possible, where although we were packed in like sardines, the real issues were below us.
“Fans were climbing up the floodlight pylons and climbing over the fences, luckily it was a fence that was manageable as the pen was getting more and more crammed.
“Down the front it looked bad, but I think a gate was opened and loads of fans burst through onto the pitch. I think if it wasn’t for the opened gate things could have turned into a real disaster.
“It was carnage, the police were useless, as were the stewards. Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough also came over and was pointing and shouting, later we heard he was blaming the Celtic fans.”
In the 1980s Nottingham Forest’s Bridgford terrace had many similarities with that of the Leppings Lane End at Hillsborough – scene of the fatal 1989 crush.
Although steeper than Leppings Lane, the Bridgford terrace was also separated into steel pens and had perimeter fencing at the front making escape in an emergency extremely difficult.
Just like at Hillsborough, crowd management of supporters was incompetent and put thousands at risk on already packed terraces.
The front fencing was marginally lower than that at Hillsborough – but only the strongest would be able to get over it.
Celtic fan Gary Hotchkies had travelled to the game from Falkirk.
“It was clear there were not enough turnstiles for the huge Celtic support and police took the easy option of just opening the gates and letting anyone in all at once into one section.
“The crush was horrendous. There there was at least twice as many fans in that area than should have been.
“I ended up one of the floodlight pylons to avoid the crush. If the ground had had high fences round it instead of hoardings it would have been the same as Hillsborough. The police just opened the outside gates and let everyone in…”
Play on the pitch continued for a few minutes before officials became aware something had gone very wrong and play was stopped for 10 minutes as fans spilled onto the pitch – many unconscious.
Fan John Sludden: “I was 14 years old and vaguely remember five of us going to see Forest the Saturday before, against Ipswich Town, in order to gain vouchers which entitled you to purchase a ticket for the Celtic game.
“We arrived early that Saturday morning and Brian Clough actually invited my brother and a friend into his office for a cup of tea and a chat about the upcoming European game. Forest beat Ipswich 2-1 that afternoon.
“The following Wednesday, our 52 seater coach left Corby and travelled the short distance to Nottingham for the match.
“We arrived at the City Ground in good spirits, a few bevvies were consumed in St Brendans Club before we left Corby, and a few cans were sunk on the coach too.
“The supporters’ buses were strangely allowed to park quite close to the turnstiles.
“The queue to enter the stadium was huge. It seemed as though the police were totally unprepared for the numbers of Celtic fans.
“There were only a few turnstiles open with thousands of supporters trying to enter the stadium.
“I got stuck in the crush towards the gates and it took my three brothers all their strength to pull me free.
“In the ensuing panic, the police gave the order to open a gate into one of the pens and fans rushed into the pens. Thankfully, the Forest stewards could see the congestion and opened the gate at the front to relieve the crushing.”
The game ended 0-0 and Forest would win the tie at Parkhead 2-1 two weeks later to go through.
The official attendance at the City Ground was put at 32,017.
Brian Clough would later comment that “85% of the crowd were Celtic supporters”.
Official reports stated 30 Celtic fans suffered injuries.
Many fans were left traumatised and some travelled back to Glasgow without shoes which had been lost in the crush.
Fan John Sludden: “It was a night of total chaos. How nobody was killed I’ll never know.”
Clippings from Nottingham Evening Post. Thanks to Mike Hill.