# 1980–81 in Scottish football

The 1980–81 season was the 108th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 84th season of Scottish league football.

## Scottish Premier Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 36 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 84 | 37 | +47 | 56 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 36 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 61 | 26 | +35 | 49 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Rangers | 36 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 60 | 32 | +28 | 44 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 4 | St Mirren | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 47 | +9 | 44 | |
| 5 | Dundee United | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 66 | 42 | +24 | 43 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 30 | |
| 7 | Airdrieonians | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 29 | |
| 8 | Morton | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 28 | |
| 9 | Kilmarnock (R) | 36 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 23 | 65 | −42 | 19 | Relegation to the 1981–82 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | Heart of Midlothian (R) | 36 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 27 | 71 | −44 | 18 | Relegation to the 1981–82 Scottish First Division |
Champions: Celtic Relegated: Kilmarnock, Hearts

## Scottish League Division One

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Hibernian (C, P) | 39 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 67 | 24 | +43 | 57 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Dundee (P) | 39 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 64 | 40 | +24 | 52 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 39 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 64 | 44 | +20 | 52 | |
| 4 | Raith Rovers | 39 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 50 | |
| 5 | Motherwell | 39 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 65 | 51 | +14 | 49 | |
| 6 | Ayr United | 39 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 59 | 42 | +17 | 45 | |
| 7 | Hamilton Academical | 39 | 15 | 7 | 17 | 61 | 57 | +4 | 37 | |
| 8 | Dumbarton | 39 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 37 | |
| 9 | Falkirk | 39 | 13 | 8 | 18 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 34 | |
| 10 | Clydebank | 39 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 59 | −11 | 33 | |
| 11 | East Stirlingshire | 39 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 28 | |
| 12 | Dunfermline Athletic | 39 | 10 | 7 | 22 | 41 | 58 | −17 | 27 | |
| 13 | Stirling Albion (R) | 39 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 19 | 48 | −29 | 23 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 14 | Berwick Rangers (R) | 39 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 30 | 82 | −52 | 21 | Relegation to the Second Division |
Promoted: Hibernian, Dundee Relegated: Stirling Albion, Berwick Rangers

## Scottish League Division Two

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Queen's Park (C, P) | 39 | 16 | 18 | 5 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 50 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Queen of the South (P) | 39 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 46 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Cowdenbeath | 39 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 63 | 48 | +15 | 45 | |
| 4 | Brechin City | 39 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 52 | 46 | +6 | 44 | |
| 5 | Forfar Athletic | 39 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 43 | |
| 6 | Alloa Athletic | 39 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 61 | 54 | +7 | 42 | |
| 7 | Montrose | 39 | 16 | 8 | 15 | 66 | 55 | +11 | 40 | |
| 8 | Clyde | 39 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 68 | 63 | +5 | 40 | |
| 9 | Arbroath | 39 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 58 | 54 | +4 | 38 | |
| 10 | Stenhousemuir | 39 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 63 | 58 | +5 | 37 | |
| 11 | East Fife | 39 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 35 | |
| 12 | Albion Rovers | 39 | 13 | 9 | 17 | 59 | 72 | −13 | 35 | |
| 13 | Meadowbank Thistle | 39 | 11 | 7 | 21 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 29 | |
| 14 | Stranraer | 39 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 36 | 83 | −47 | 22 | |
Promoted: Queen's Park, Queen of the South

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup 1980–81 | Rangers | 4 – 1 (rep.) | Dundee United |
| League Cup 1980–81 | Dundee United | 3 – 0 | Dundee |
| Junior Cup | Pollok | 1 – 0 | Arthurlie |

## Other honours
### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – North | Inverness Caledonian | 2 – 1 † | Elgin City |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – South | Hawick Royal Albert | 3 – 1 * | Gala Fairydean |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Aberdeen | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Kilmarnock | 2 – 0 * | Ayr United |
| East of Scotland Shield | Berwick Rangers | 6 – 1 | Meadowbank Thistle |
| Fife Cup | Raith Rovers | 2 – 0 * | Dunfermline Athletic |
| Glasgow Cup | Partick Thistle | 1 – 0 | Celtic |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Motherwell | | Airdrie |
| Renfrewshire Cup | Morton | 2 – 2 *‡ | St Mirren |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Dumbarton | 3 – 0 | Stirling Albion |
$^*$ – aggregate over two legs † – replay ‡ – won on penalties

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Keith | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 52 | 26 | +26 | 42 |
| 2 | Fraserburgh | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 55 | 31 | +24 | 41 |
| 3 | Elgin City | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 63 | 32 | +31 | 40 |

## Individual honours

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Alan Rough | Partick Thistle |
| Players' Player of the Year | Mark McGhee | Aberdeen |
| Young Player of the Year | Charlie Nicholas | Celtic |

## Scottish national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 10 September | Solna Stadion, Stockholm (A) | Sweden | 1–0 | WCQG6 | Gordon Strachan |
| 15 October | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Portugal | 0–0 | WCQG6 | |
| 25 February | Ramat Gan Stadium (A) | Israel | 1–0 | WCQG6 | Kenny Dalglish |
| 25 March | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 1–1 | WCQG6 | John Wark |
| 28 April | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Israel | 3–1 | WCQG6 | John Robertson (2, 1 pen.), Davie Provan |
| 16 May | Vetch Field, Swansea (A) | Wales | 0–2 | BHC | |
| 19 May | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 2–0 | BHC | Ray Stewart, Steve Archibald |
| 23 May | Wembley Stadium, London (A) | England | 1–0 | BHC | John Robertson |
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* WCQG6 = World Cup qualifying – Group 6
* BHC = British Home Championship