The 1976–77
British Home Championship launched a brand new era in
Home Nations football during its final game, when jubilant Scottish fans invaded the pitch at
Wembley Stadium following their team's 2–1 victory. Unlike a similar occasion in
1967, family
football had given way to
hooliganism and extensive damage was done to the stadium and riots in
London throughout the night followed the occasion. It was events like this which eventually led to the tournament's cancellation in 1984.[citation needed]
The tournament itself was an open affair, with an opening victory for
England cancelled out by a
Scottish win over
Northern Ireland and English defeat to
Wales. The Welsh stood a good chance of winning the tournament outright for the first time since 1937, but could not beat the Irish in their final match, and ended up in a rare second-place position. The Scots and English thus faced each other in the final match knowing the winner would take the trophy, the Scots achieving a victory on England's home ground to take the trophy for the second year in a row and demonstrate their dominance in British football. The match was followed by a mass
pitch invasion by Scottish supporters.[1]
Source: [citation needed] Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. (C) Champions