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Notable events
2006
- July 9: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and unacceptable" behaviour as the reason for Ricksen's omission. Ricksen later admitted that he fears for his future at Rangers claiming that the club have other motives for wanting him out.[1] He was later loaned to Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- July 29: Scotland under-19s lose 2–1 to Spain in the final of the European Under-19 Football Championship.[2]
- October 23: In the wake of their 2–0 home defeat to Kilmarnock, Hearts head coach Valdas Ivanauskas is given a two-week leave of absence after discussions with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov. Ivanauskas cited ill-health as the reason for his temporary departure. Sporting Director, and former coach of Belarus, Eduard Malofeev is appointed for the interim.[3]
- October 27: Hearts' majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov states that he will sell players if the club fail to beat Dunfermline Athletic in their forthcoming fixture. Club captain Steven Pressley released a statement shortly after expressing the players' discontent at the current situation at the club.[4]
- November 14: After their 1–1 draw away at Falkirk, Hearts announce that interim head coach Eduard Malofeev is to be replaced by FBK Kaunas manager Eugenijus Riabovas, this is to allow Malofeev to pursue his Uefa coaching Pro-licence.[5]
- November 24: Valdas Ivanauskas returns as Hearts head-coach.[6]
- December 9: Hearts part company with captain Steven Pressley.[7][8]
- December 20: Dundee part company with striker Andy McLaren after he was given three red cards in a 2&7ndash;1 defeat to Clyde.[9]
2007
- January 1: It is reported that Barry Ferguson has been stripped of the captaincy of Rangers and will not play for the club again under Paul Le Guen. Gavin Rae is appointed as the new captain.[10]
- January 2: Paul Le Guen confirms that Gavin Rae will be the new Rangers captain. With regard to Barry Ferguson he stated "When you have someone you feel undermines you, it becomes harder and harder".[11] Asked whether Ferguson had been placed on the transfer list, Le Guen said "It remains to be seen. My own position, which is precarious, may have an influence on that."[12]
- January 4: Paul Le Guen leaves Rangers by mutual consent after meeting with Rangers chairman Sir David Murray.[13]
- January 8: The Scottish Football Association reject an approach from Rangers for manager Walter Smith.[14] A statement from the SFA revealed that Smith had requested to be relieved of his contract, however this was refused following a meeting.[15]
- January 10: Walter Smith is confirmed as Rangers manager, having resigned from his position as Scotland manager.[16] The SFA release a statement stating that "No agreement has been reached with Mr Smith or Rangers Football Club on any compensation payment" and "In the absence of agreement, proceedings will require to be raised against Mr Smith for breach of contract and Rangers Football Club for inducement to breach the contract."[17]
- January 11: The SFA agree a compensation package with Rangers over manager Walter Smith's switch to Ibrox.[18]
- March 2: For the second time of the season, Hearts manager Valdas Ivanauskas is given leave of absence by the club. Sporting Director, and former CSKA Moscow player Anatoly Korobochka is appointed on a temporary basis.[19]
- March 18: Hibernian win the Scottish League Cup, defeating Kilmarnock 5–1 in the final.[20]
- April 7: Second Division team Forfar Athletic become the first team in Scotland to confirm their relegation following a 9–1 defeat by Greenock Morton.[21]
- April 14: Greenock Morton are promoted as champions of the Second Division, despite losing 2–0 to Raith Rovers.[22]
- April 21: Berwick Rangers are promoted as champions of the Third Division after a 1–0 win over Arbroath.[23]
- April 22: Celtic are crowned Scottish Premier League champions for the second successive season after defeating Kilmarnock 2–1.[24]
- April 28: Gretna win promotion to the Premier League as First Division champions after beating Ross County 3–2 at Victoria Park, a result that relegated County to the Second Division.[25]
- May 3: East Stirlingshire, having finished bottom of the Third Division for the fifth consecutive season, are told they will lose full member status if the club finish bottom again next season.[26]
- May 5: Rangers ensure second place in the SPL and entry to the UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round after defeating Celtic 2–0 at Ibrox.[27]
- May 12: Queen's Park gain promotion to the Second Division after defeating East Fife 7–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-off[28]. The Glasgow club swap places with Stranraer who lost to East Fife in the semi-final stage.
- May 12: Stirling Albion gain promotion to the First Division, and swap places with Airdrie United, after defeating the North Lanarkshire club 5–4 on aggregate in the promotion/relegation play-off match[29]
- May 12: Dunfermline Athletic are relegated to the First Division. A 2–1 defeat at Inverness[30], coupled with St. Mirren's 3–2 win at Motherwell[31], meant the Fife club exit the SPL after seven seasons in the top flight.
- May 16: Sevilla win the UEFA Cup after defeating Espanyol 3–1 on penalties at Hampden Park. The match had finished 2–2 after 90 minutes.[32]
- May 20: Aberdeen seal a UEFA Cup place for next season after defeating Rangers 2–0 at Pittodrie in the final game of the season.[33]
- May 26: SPL champions Celtic complete the double after defeating Dunfermline Athletic 1–0 to win the Scottish Cup for the 34th time.[34]
Major transfer deals
2006
Celtic made preparations for the Champions League with the high profile signings of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink from PSV Eindhoven, Jiri Jarosik from Chelsea and Thomas Gravesen from Real Madrid while Stilyan Petrov left to join former boss Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa. Celtic also signed former Rangers striker Kenny Miller on a free transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rangers, under new manager Paul Le Guen, brought in several players including Jérémy Clément from Paris Saint Germain and Filip Sebo from Austria Vienna while Peter Løvenkrands departed for Schalke 04. Hearts paid £200,000 for PAOK Salonika defender Hristos Karipidis and sold Rudi Skácel to Southampton after a dispute between the player and the club. Hibs brought in English League Two defenders Rob Jones and Shelton Martis but lost last season's top scorer Derek Riordan who joined Celtic.
Domestic
- June 20, 2006 - Noel Hunt from Dunfermline Athletic to Dundee United, £50,000
- June 23, 2006 - Derek Riordan from Hibernian to Celtic, Undisclosed (reportedly £150,000)
- July 1, 2006 - Gary Caldwell from Hibernian to Celtic, Bosman
- July 11, 2006 - Ross McCormack from Rangers to Motherwell, Undisclosed
- July 13, 2006 - John Rankin from Ross County to Invernss CT, Undisclosed (reportedly £65,000)
- August 11, 2006 - David Proctor from Inverness CT to Dundee United, £35,000
- August 19, 2006 - David Fernández from Dundee United to Kilmarnock, Free
- August 29, 2006 - Jim Hamilton from Motherwell to Dunfermline Athletic, Undisclosed
- August 31, 2006 - Stephen Crawford from Aberdeen to Dunfermline Athletic, Free
- August 31, 2006 - John Stewart from Aberdeen to Falkirk, £50,000
- August 31, 2006 - Lee Miller from Dundee United to Aberdeen, Free
In
- May 16, 2006 - Libor Sionko from Austria Vienna to Rangers, Bosman
- May 26, 2006 - Karl Svensson from IFK Göteborg to Rangers, Undisclosed (reportedly £600,000)
- June 8, 2006 - Rob Jones from Grimsby Town to Hibernian, £100,000
- June 16, 2006 - Lionel Letizi from Paris Saint-Germain to Rangers, Free
- June 19, 2006 - Jiri Jarosik from Chelsea to Celtic, Undisclosed (reportedly £2m)
- July 1, 2006 - Kenny Miller from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Celtic, Bosman
- July 7, 2006 - Jérémy Clément from Olympique Lyonnais to Rangers, £1.1m
- July 15, 2006 - Makhtar N'Diaye from Unattached to Rangers, Free
- July 28, 2006 - Mauricio Pinilla from Sporting Lisbon to Hearts, Season loan
- August 1, 2006 - Graham Barrett from Unattached to Falkirk, Free
- August 1, 2006 - Colin McMenamin from Shrewsbury Town to Gretna, Free
- August 2, 2006 - Christian Kalvenes from S.K. Brann to Dundee United, Free
- August 2, 2006 - Joe Hamill from Leicester City to Livingston, Free
- August 3, 2006 - Hristos Karipidis from PAOK Salonika to Hearts, £200,000
- August 3, 2006 - Filip Sebo from Austria Wien to Rangers, £1.8m
- August 4, 2006 - Tiago Costa from Benfica to Hearts, Free
- August 11, 2006 - Lee Martin from Manchester United to Rangers, Loan
- August 11, 2006 - Merouane Zemmama from Raja Casablanca to Hibernian, Free
- August 14, 2006 - Shelton Martis from Darlington to Hibernian, Free
- August 15, 2006 - Marius Zaliukas from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Loan
- August 16, 2006 - Phil Bardsley from Manchester United to Rangers, Loan
- August 24, 2006 - Lee Naylor from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Celtic, £600,000 (including Charles Mulgrew in exchange)
- August 24, 2006 - Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink from PSV Eindhoven to Celtic, £3.4m
- August 29, 2006 - Kęstutis Ivaškevičius from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Season loan
- August 29, 2006 - Andrius Velicka from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Season loan
- August 29, 2006 - Anthony Stokes from Arsenal to Falkirk, Loan
- August 30, 2006 - Thomas Gravesen from Real Madrid to Celtic, £2m
- August 31, 2006 - Saša Papac from Austria Wien to Rangers, £450,000
- October 10, 2006 - Lee Wilkie from Unattached to Dundee United, Free
Out
- May 23, 2006 - Peter Løvenkrands from Rangers to Schalke 04, Bosman
- June 2, 2006 - David McNamee from Livingston to Coventry City, £100,000
- June 26, 2006 - John Hartson from Celtic to West Bromwich Albion, Undisclosed
- June 30, 2006 - Steven Hammell from Motherwell to Southend United, Bosman
- July 1, 2006 - Kevin McNaughton from Aberdeen to Cardiff City, Bosman
- July 29, 2006 - Rudolf Skácel from Hearts to Southampton, £1.6m
- August 2, 2006 - Jamie McAllister from Hearts to Bristol City, Free
- August 2, 2006 - Chris Hackett from Hearts to Millwall, Free
- August 7, 2006 - Adam Virgo from Celtic to Coventry City, Season loan
- August 9, 2006 - Lee Johnson from Hearts to Bristol City, Free
- August 11, 2006 - Mohammed Camara from Celtic to Derby County, Free
- August 14, 2006 - Fernando Ricksen from Rangers to Zenit Saint Petersburg, Season loan
- August 26, 2006 - Hamed Namouchi from Rangers to FC Lorient, Undisclosed
- August 30, 2006 - Stilian Petrov from Celtic to Aston Villa, £6.5m
- August 31, 2006 - Stanislav Varga from Celtic to Sunderland, Undisclosed
- August 31, 2006 - Ross Wallace from Celtic to Sunderland, Undisclosed
- November 28, 2006 - Fernando Ricksen from Rangers to Zenit Saint Petersburg, £1m
2007
Celtic further strengthened their squad with the signings of Paul Hartley from Hearts and Mark Brown from Inverness, while Steven Pressley was also signed after being released by Hearts. Shaun Maloney joined Aston Villa after contract negotiations broke down. New Rangers manager Walter Smith brought in defenders David Weir, Andy Webster and Ugo Ehiogu and spent £2m on Hibs' highly rated midfielder Kevin Thomson. Hearts looked to boost their European qualification hopes with the signing of a further four players on loan from FBK Kaunas as well as Laryea Kingston from Terek Grozny. New Dunfermline boss Stephen Kenny brought in loan signings James O'Brien from Celtic, Adam Hammill from Liverpool and Stephen Glass from Hibs with the club bottom of the SPL.
Domestic
- January 1, 2007 - Morgaro Gomis from Cowdenbeath to Dundee United, Nominal fee
- January 2, 2007 - Ryan Stevenson from St. Johnstone to Ayr United, Undisclosed
- January 5, 2007 - James O'Brien from Celtic to Dunfermline Athletic, Loan
- January 6, 2007 - Stephen Dobbie from St. Johnstone to Queen of the South, Undisclosed
- January 8, 2007 - David Templeton from Stenhousemuir to Hearts, £30,000
- January 11, 2007 - Markus Paatelainen from Cowdenbeath to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Undisclosed
- January 11, 2007 - Paul McHale from Clyde to Dundee, Free
- January 18, 2007 - Mark Brown from Inverness Caledonian Thistle to Celtic, Undisclosed
- January 19, 2007 - Derek Carcary from Rangers to Raith Rovers, Free
- January 25, 2007 - Stephen Glass from Hibernian to Dunfermline Athletic, Loan
- January 26, 2007 - Stuart Golabek from Inverness Caledonian Thistle to Livingston, Loan
- January 26, 2007 - Derek Lilley from Morton to St. Johnstone, Free
- January 26, 2007 - Jamie Mole from Hearts to Livingston, Loan
- January 26, 2007 - Matthew Doherty from Hearts to Cowdenbeath, Loan
- January 26, 2007 - Jamie MacDonald from Hearts to Queen of the South, Loan
- January 27, 2007 - Willie Gibson from Queen of the South to Kilmarnock, Undisclosed
- January 27, 2007 - Willie Gibson from Kilmarnock to Queen of the South, Loan
- January 27, 2007 - Stevie Murray from Kilmarnock to Queen of the South, Loan
- January 27, 2007 - Jamie Adams from Kilmarnock to Queen of the South, Loan
- January 30, 2007 - Kevin Thomson from Hibernian to Rangers, £2m
- January 31, 2007 - Stephen O'Donnell from Clyde to St. Mirren, Undisclosed
- January 31, 2007 - Eddie Malone from Clyde to St. Mirren, Undisclosed
- January 31, 2007 - Kyle Macaulay from Aberdeen to Peterhead, Undisclosed
- January 31, 2007 - Paul Hartley from Hearts to Celtic, Undisclosed
- January 31, 2007 - Alan Archibald from Dundee United to Partick Thistle, Free
- January 31, 2007 - Robert Snodgrass from Livingston to Stirling Albion, Loan
- January 31, 2007 - Steve Tosh from Gretna to Queen of the South, Free
- March 6, 2007 - Zbigniew Malkowski from Hibernian to Gretna, Loan
In
- January 1, 2007 - Steven Pressley from Unattached to Celtic, Free
- January 1, 2007 - Craig Brewster from Unattached to Aberdeen, Free
- January 1, 2007 - Dean Holden from Peterborough United to Falkirk, Undisclosed
- January 1, 2007 - Danny Murphy from Cork City to Motherwell, Undisclosed
- January 1, 2007 - Trevor Molloy from St Patrick's Athletic to Motherwell, Undisclosed
- January 1, 2007 - Paul Keegan from St Patrick's Athletic to Motherwell, Undisclosed
- January 1, 2007 - Mark McChrystal from Derry City to Partick Thistle, Undisclosed
- January 1, 2007 - Derek McInnes from Millwall to St. Johnstone, Free
- January 3, 2007 - Dumitru Copil from Atletico Arad to Hearts, Free
- January 5, 2007 - Andrew Webster from Wigan Athletic to Rangers, Loan
- January 5, 2007 - Jon Daly from Hartlepool United to Dundee United, Undisclosed
- January 6, 2007 - Eduardas Kurskis from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Undisclosed
- January 6, 2007 - Arkadiusz Klimek from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Undisclosed
- January 9, 2007 - Steven Hogg from Shrewsbury Town to Gretna, Loan
- January 11, 2007 - Sean Dillon from Shelbourne to Dundee United, Undisclosed
- January 11, 2007 - Momo Sylla from Leicester City to Kilmarnock, Free
- January 11, 2007 - Kasper Schmeichel from Manchester City to Falkirk, Loan
- January 11, 2007 - Kevin Smith from Sunderland to Dundee, Free
- January 13, 2007 - Bobby Ryan from Shelbourne to Dunfermline Athletic, Undisclosed
- January 16, 2007 - David Weir from Everton to Rangers, Free
- January 18, 2007 - Adam Hammill from Liverpool to Dunfermline Athletic, Loan
- January 19, 2007 - Filipe Morais from Millwall to St. Johnstone, Loan
- January 25, 2007 - Ugo Ehiogu from Middlesbrough to Rangers, Free
- January 25, 2007 - Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé from Stade Rennais to Celtic, Loan
- January 27, 2007 - Jamie Harris from Shelbourne to Dunfermline Athletic, Free
- January 31, 2007 - Krisztian Vadocz from Auxerre to Motherwell, Loan
- January 31, 2007 - Linas Pilibaitis from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Loan
- January 31, 2007 - Tomas Kancelskis from FBK Kaunas to Hearts, Loan
- January 31, 2007 - Laryea Kingston from Terek Grozny to Hearts, Loan
- February 6, 2007 - Thomas Sowunmi from Unattached to Hibernian, Free
- March 14, 2007 - Shana Haji from Real Zaragoza to Hibernian, Free
Out
- January 1, 2007 - Moses Ashikodi from Rangers to Watford, Nomimal fee
- January 11, 2007 - Stephen Pearson from Celtic to Derby County, £750,000
- January 11, 2007 - Julien Rodriguez from Rangers to Olympique de Marseille, Undisclosed
- January 12, 2007 - Alan Thompson from Celtic to Leeds United, Loan
- January 17, 2007 - David Marshall from Celtic to Norwich City, Loan
- January 22, 2007 - Oumar Konde from Hibernian to Panionios, Undisclosed
- January 23, 2007 - Dany N'Guessan from Rangers to Lincoln City, Free
- January 25, 2007 - Jérémy Clément from Rangers to Paris Saint-Germain, Undisclosed
- January 30, 2007 - Lionel Letizi from Rangers to OGC Nice, Free
- January 31, 2007 - Richie Foran from Motherwell to Southend United, £200,000
- January 31, 2007 - Simon Lappin from St. Mirren to Norwich City, £100,000
- January 31, 2007 - Kenny Deuchar from Gretna to Northampton Town, Loan
- January 31, 2007 - Shaun Maloney from Celtic to Aston Villa, £1m
