# 1971–72 in Scottish football

The 1971–72 season was the 99th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 75th season of Scottish league football.

## Scottish League Division One

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic | 34 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 96 | 28 | +68 | 60 | Champion |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 80 | 26 | +54 | 50 | |
| 3 | Rangers | 34 | 21 | 2 | 11 | 71 | 38 | +33 | 44 | |
| 4 | Hibernian | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 62 | 34 | +28 | 44 | |
| 5 | Dundee | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 59 | 38 | +21 | 41 | |
| 6 | Heart of Midlothian | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 39 | |
| 7 | Partick Thistle | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 34 | |
| 8 | St Johnstone | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 52 | 58 | −6 | 32 | |
| 9 | Dundee United | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 55 | 70 | −15 | 31 | |
| 10 | Motherwell | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 29 | |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 49 | 64 | −15 | 28 | |
| 12 | Ayr United | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 58 | −18 | 28 | |
| 13 | Morton | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 27 | |
| 14 | Falkirk | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 27 | |
| 15 | Airdrieonians | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 44 | 76 | −32 | 26 | |
| 16 | East Fife | 34 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 34 | 61 | −27 | 25 | |
| 17 | Clyde | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 33 | 66 | −33 | 24 | Relegated to 1972–73 Second Division |
| 18 | Dunfermline Athletic | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 23 | Relegated to 1972–73 Second Division |
Champions: Celtic
Relegated: Clyde, Dunfermline

## Scottish League Division Two

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Dumbarton | 36 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 89 | 51 | +38 | 52 | Promotion to the 1972–73 First Division |
| 2 | Arbroath | 36 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 71 | 41 | +30 | 52 | Promotion to the 1972–73 First Division |
| 3 | Stirling Albion | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 75 | 37 | +38 | 50 | |
| 4 | St Mirren | 36 | 24 | 2 | 10 | 84 | 47 | +37 | 50 | |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 69 | 28 | +41 | 48 | |
| 6 | Stranraer | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 44 | |
| 7 | Queen of the South | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 56 | 38 | +18 | 43 | |
| 8 | East Stirlingshire | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 60 | 58 | +2 | 41 | |
| 9 | Clydebank | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 39 | |
| 10 | Montrose | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 73 | 54 | +19 | 36 | |
| 11 | Raith Rovers | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 34 | |
| 12 | Queen's Park | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 47 | 61 | −14 | 33 | |
| 13 | Berwick Rangers | 36 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 32 | |
| 14 | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 41 | 58 | −17 | 28 | |
| 15 | Brechin City | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 41 | 79 | −38 | 23 | |
| 16 | Alloa Athletic | 36 | 9 | 4 | 23 | 41 | 75 | −34 | 22 | |
| 17 | Forfar Athletic | 36 | 6 | 9 | 21 | 32 | 84 | −52 | 21 | |
| 18 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 20 | |
| 19 | Hamilton Academical | 36 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 31 | 93 | −62 | 16 | |
Promoted: Dumbarton, Arbroath

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup 1971–72 | Celtic | 6 – 1 | Hibernian |
| League Cup 1971–72 | Partick Thistle | 4 – 1 | Celtic |
| Junior Cup | Cambuslang Rangers | 3 – 2 (rep.) | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic |

## Other honours
### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – North | Inverness Thistle | 5 – 4 * | Ross County |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – South | Vale of Leithen | 4 – 0 * | Duns |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Peterhead | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Kilmarnock | 3 – 1 * | Ayr United |
| Fife Cup | Raith Rovers | 4 – 1 * | Dunfermline Athletic |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 4 – 0 | Dundee |
| Renfrewshire Cup | Morton | 7 – 0 | Babcock & Wilcox |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Stirling Albion | 5 – 1 | Clydebank |
$^*$ – aggregate over two legs

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Inverness Thistle | 30 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 114 | 38 | +76 | 52 |
| 2 | Elgin City | 30 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 99 | 32 | +67 | 51 |
| 3 | Inverness Caledonian | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 107 | 38 | +69 | 46 |

## Individual honours

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Dave Smith | Rangers |

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 13 October 1971 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Portugal | 2–1 | ECQG5 | John O'Hare, Archie Gemmill |
| 10 November 1971 | Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H) | Belgium | 1–0 | ECQG5 | John O'Hare |
| 1 December 1971 | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam (A) | Netherlands | 1–2 | Friendly | George Graham |
| 26 April 1972 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Peru | 2–0 | Friendly | John O'Hare, Denis Law |
| 20 May 1972 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 2–0 | BHC | Denis Law, Peter Lorimer |
| 24 May 1972 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Wales | 1–0 | BHC | Peter Lorimer |
| 27 May 1972 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | England | 0–1 | BHC | |
| 29 June 1972 | Estadio Minearo, Belo Horizonte (N) | Yugoslavia | 2–2 | BIC | Lou Macari (2) |
| 2 July 1972 | Estadio Biera Rio, Porto Alegre (N) | Czechoslovakia | 0–0 | BIC | |
| 5 July 1972 | Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro (A) | Brazil | 0–1 | BIC | |
1972 British Home Championship – Joint winners with England
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* ECQG5 = European Championship qualifying – Group 5
* BHC = British Home Championship
* BIC = Brazilian Independence Cup