Terry Butcher has revealed that Paul Gascoigne’s goal for England against Scotland at Euro 1996 sparked celebrations among Rangers fans.
The former Gers player scored a beautiful volley to give the Three Lions a 2-0 win over the Scots at Wembley and Butcher has remembered the violent scenes that followed.
The 58-year-old, who also played for Rangers, has recalled how he saw scores of football fans covered in blood after the match but there was not an England fan in sight at his hotel which is north of the border.
“I thought, ‘Wow, there must have been a massive scrap with the England fans up here’,” said the Butcher, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“They said there were no England fans around but when Gascoigne scored that goal, because he was a Rangers player, all the Rangers fans jumped up shouting, ‘What a goal, he’s the man’.
“All the non-Rangers fans took offence and World War Three started.”
England went on to top Group A following a 4-1 win over the Netherlands and managed to reach the semi-finals.
As for Scotland, they failed to qualify from the group but did manage to beat Switzerland 1-0 thanks to Ally McCoist’s goal at Villa Park.
Gascoigne spent three seasons at Ibrox and won two Scottish Premiership titles.
The ex-Tottenham and Newcastle star made 64 league appearances in his time at Rangers and scored 30 goals, becoming an instant favourite of the fans – so much so they even enjoyed to see him score against Scotland.
Butcher also enjoyed success in his time at the Light Blues and won the three league titles that began a run of nine in a row.
He spent four years at the Gers before winding down his career with stints at Coventry, Sunderland and Clydebank.