# 2003–04 in Scottish football

The 2003–04 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Scotland.

## League Competitions
### Scottish Premier League

The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League season was won by Celtic with 98 points, 17 points ahead of closest challengers Rangers. Both Rangers and Celtic therefore gained the two UEFA Champions League places and Hearts got the UEFA Europa League place having finished third. Partick Thistle were relegated to the Scottish First Division, this however was decided by a tribunal as at the time Inverness's stadium did not meet the criteria for the SPL, as with Falkirk the previous season, however unlike Falkirk the SPL decided that Inverness were allowed to share a ground with Aberdeen.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 105 | 25 | +80 | 98 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 68 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 53 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 49 | |
| 6 | Motherwell | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 46 | |
| 7 | Dundee | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 46 | |
| 8 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 60 | −19 | 44 | Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup second round |
| 9 | Livingston | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 43 | |
| 10 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 51 | 74 | −23 | 42 | |
| 11 | Aberdeen | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 39 | 63 | −24 | 34 | |
| 12 | Partick Thistle (R) | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 39 | 67 | −28 | 26 | Relegation to the Scottish First Division |
* ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
* ↑ As Celtic, the 2003–04 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dunfermline Athletic, the cup runners-up.
* ↑ Hibernian qualified for the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup as the highest placed team to apply to participate in the competition.

### Scottish First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Inverness CT (C, P) | 36 | 21 | 7 | 8 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 70 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Clyde | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 64 | 40 | +24 | 69 | |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 57 | |
| 4 | Falkirk | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 55 | |
| 5 | Queen of the South | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 54 | |
| 6 | Ross County | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 49 | |
| 7 | St Mirren | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 41 | |
| 8 | Raith Rovers | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 37 | 57 | −20 | 34 | |
| 9 | Ayr United (R) | 36 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 31 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 10 | Brechin City (R) | 36 | 6 | 9 | 21 | 37 | 73 | −36 | 27 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Scottish Second Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Airdrie United (C, P) | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 64 | 36 | +28 | 70 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Hamilton Academical (P) | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 70 | 47 | +23 | 62 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Dumbarton | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 60 | |
| 4 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 66 | 58 | +8 | 59 | |
| 5 | Berwick Rangers | 36 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 61 | 67 | −6 | 48 | |
| 6 | Forfar Athletic | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 49 | 57 | −8 | 47 | |
| 7 | Alloa Athletic | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 44 | |
| 8 | Arbroath | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 41 | 57 | −16 | 43 | |
| 9 | East Fife (R) | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 41 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 10 | Stenhousemuir (R) | 36 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 28 | 65 | −37 | 25 | Relegation to the Third Division |

### Scottish Third Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Stranraer (C, P) | 36 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 87 | 30 | +57 | 79 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Stirling Albion (P) | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 78 | 27 | +51 | 77 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 3 | Gretna | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 59 | 39 | +20 | 68 | |
| 4 | Peterhead | 36 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 67 | 37 | +30 | 61 | |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 55 | |
| 6 | Montrose | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 52 | 63 | −11 | 48 | |
| 7 | Queen's Park | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 41 | 53 | −12 | 41 | |
| 8 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 66 | 75 | −9 | 40 | |
| 9 | Elgin City | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 48 | 93 | −45 | 25 | |
| 10 | East Stirlingshire | 36 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 30 | 118 | −88 | 8 | |

## Other honours
### Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Report |
| Scottish Cup 2003–04 | Celtic | 3 – 1 | Dunfermline Athletic | Wikipedia article |
| League Cup 2003–04 | Livingston | 2 – 0 | Hibernian | Wikipedia article |
| Challenge Cup 2003–04 | Inverness CT | 2 – 0 | Airdrie United | Wikipedia article |
| Youth Cup | Kilmarnock | 1 – 0 | Rangers | |
| Junior Cup | Carnoustie Panmure | 0 – 0 (4 – 1 pen.) | Tayport | |

### Individual honours
#### SPFA awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Players' Player of the Year | Chris Sutton | Celtic |
| Young Player of the Year | Stephen Pearson | Celtic |

#### SFWA awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Jackie McNamara | Celtic |
| Young Player of the Year | Craig Gordon | Heart of Midlothian |
| Manager of the Year | Martin O'Neill | Celtic |

## Scottish clubs in Europe
### Summary

| Club | Competition(s) | Final round | Coef. |
| Rangers | UEFA Champions League | Group stage | 5.50 |
| Celtic | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League | Group stage Quarter-finals | 17.00 |
| Heart of Midlothian | UEFA Europa League | Second round | 5.00 |
| Dundee | UEFA Europa League | First round | 2.00 |
Average coefficient – 7.375

### Rangers

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Rangers scorer(s) | Report |
| Champions League Third qualifying round ||||||
| 13 August | Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) | FC Copenhagen | 1–1 | Peter Løvenkrands | BBC Sport |
| 27 August | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (A) | FC Copenhagen | 2–1 | Mikel Arteta (pen.), Shota Arveladze | BBC Sport |
| Champions League Group stage ||||||
| 16 September | Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) | VfB Stuttgart | 2–1 | Christian Nerlinger, Peter Løvenkrands | BBC Sport |
| 1 October | Olympic Stadium (A) | Panathinaikos | 1–1 | Emerson Moisés Costa | BBC Sport |
| 22 October | Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) | Manchester United | 0–1 | | BBC Sport |
| 4 November | Old Trafford, Manchester (A) | Manchester United | 0–3 | | BBC Sport |
| 26 November | Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (A) | VfB Stuttgart | 0–1 | | BBC Sport |
| 9 December | Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) | Panathinaikos | 1–3 | Michael Mols | BBC Sport |

### Celtic

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Celtic scorer(s) | Report |
| Champions League Second qualifying round ||||||
| 30 July | S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno Stadium, Kaunas (A) | FBK Kaunas | 4–0 | Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Shaun Maloney, Liam Miller | BBC Sport |
| 6 August | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | FBK Kaunas | 1–0 | Darius Gvildys (o.g.) | BBC Sport |
| Champions League Third qualifying round ||||||
| 13 August | Hidegkuti Nándor, Budapest (A) | MTK Hungária FC | 4–0 | Henrik Larsson, Didier Agathe, Stilian Petrov, Chris Sutton | BBC Sport |
| 27 August | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | MTK Hungária FC | 1–0 | Chris Sutton | BBC Sport |
| Champions League Group stage ||||||
| 17 September | Olympic Stadium, Munich (A) | Bayern Munich | 1–2 | Alan Thompson | BBC Sport |
| 30 September | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | Lyon | 2–0 | Liam Miller, Chris Sutton | BBC Sport |
| 21 October | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht (A) | Anderlecht | 0–1 | | BBC Sport |
| 5 November | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | Anderlecht | 3–1 | Henrik Larsson, Liam Miller, Chris Sutton | BBC Sport |
| 25 November | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | Bayern Munich | 0–0 | | BBC Sport |
| 10 December | Stade de Gerland, Lyon (A) | Lyon | 2–3 | John Hartson, Chris Sutton | BBC Sport |
| UEFA Cup Third round ||||||
| 26 February | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | FK Teplice | 3–0 | Henrik Larsson (2), Chris Sutton | BBC Sport |
| 3 March | Na Stínadlech, Teplice (A) | FK Teplice | 0–1 | | BBC Sport |
| UEFA Cup Fourth round ||||||
| 10 March | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | FC Barcelona | 1–0 | Alan Thompson | BBC Sport |
| 24 March | Nou Camp, Barcelona (A) | FC Barcelona | 0–0 | | BBC Sport |
| UEFA Cup Quarter-final ||||||
| 8 April | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | Villarreal | 1–1 | Henrik Larsson | BBC Sport |
| 14 April | Estadio El Madrigal, Villarreal (A) | Villarreal | 0–2 | | BBC Sport |

### Hearts

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Hearts scorer(s) | Report |
| UEFA Cup First round ||||||
| 24 September | Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh (H) | NK Željezničar | 2–0 | Mark de Vries, Andrew Webster | BBC Sport |
| 15 October | Grbavica Stadium, Sarajevo (A) | NK Željezničar | 0–0 | | BBC Sport |
| UEFA Cup Second round ||||||
| 6 November | Stade Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux (A) | Girondins de Bordeaux | 1–0 | Mark de Vries | BBC Sport |
| 6 November | Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh (H) | Girondins de Bordeaux | 0–2 | | BBC Sport |

### Dundee

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Dundee scorer(s) | Report |
| UEFA Cup Qualifying round ||||||
| 14 August | Loro Borici stadium, Albania (A) | Vllaznia | 2–0 | Steve Lovell, Nacho Novo | BBC Sport |
| 28 August | Dens Park, Dundee (H) | Vllaznia | 4–0 | Nacho Novo (2), Juan Sara, Gavin Rae | BBC Sport |
| UEFA Cup First round ||||||
| 24 September | Dens Park, Dundee (H) | Perugia | 1–2 | Lee Wilkie | BBC Sport |
| 15 October | Stadio Renato Curi, Perugia (A) | Perugia | 0–1 | | BBC Sport |

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) | Report |
| 20 August | Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo (A) | Norway | 0–0 | Friendly | | BBC Sport |
| 6 September | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Faroe Islands | 3–1 | ECQG5 | Neil McCann, Paul Dickov, James McFadden | BBC Sport |
| 10 September | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund (A) | Germany | 1–2 | ECQG5 | Neil McCann | BBC Sport |
| 11 October | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Lithuania | 1–0 | ECQG5 | Darren Fletcher | BBC Sport |
| 15 November | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Netherlands | 1–0 | ECQPO | James McFadden | BBC Sport |
| 19 November | Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (A) | Netherlands | 0–6 | ECQPO | | BBC Sport |
| 18 February | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (A) | Wales | 0–4 | Friendly | | BBC Sport |
| 31 March | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Romania | 1–2 | Friendly | James McFadden | BBC Sport |
| 28 April | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (A) | Denmark | 0–1 | Friendly | | BBC Sport |
| 27 May | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn (A) | Estonia | 1–0 | Friendly | James McFadden | BBC Sport |
| 30 May | Easter Road, Edinburgh (H) | Trinidad and Tobago | 4–1 | Friendly | Darren Fletcher, Gary Holt, Gary Caldwell, Nigel Quashie | BBC Sport |
Key:
* (A) = Away match
* (H) = Home match
* ECQG5 = European Championship Qualifying – Group 5
* EFQPO = European Championship Qualifying – Play-off

## Deaths

* 1 February: Ally MacLeod, 72, Scotland national team manager (1977–78).
* 12 February: Leonard Dudman, 70, Falkirk and Forfar Athletic winger.