Celtic Rangers match proposed ahead of Good Friday Agreement vote

A special football match between Celtic and Rangers in Belfast to publicise the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was proposed by No 10 adviser Alistair Campbell, according to British cabinet papers just released.

Mr Campbell suggested that the teams wear each other's jerseys in the match.

However, he admitted "one or two of the Rangers players to my certain knowledge would have a difficulty with this".

Mr Campbell, whose parents were from Scotland, said he had a "direct in" with Celtic while he could get Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to approach Rangers.

"Both in terms of raising publicity for the campaign and in sending out a message, it would be very powerful."

In the letter headed Rangers v Celtic, An Idea, addressed to Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam and Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar and dated 12 April 1998, Mr Campbell asked if this was worth pursuing.

There is no record of anyone getting back to him.

The referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was held on 22 May that year.

The optimism expressed by Mr Campbell in April was a far cry from the "potentially dangerous sense of despondency and failure" recorded by British civil servants as multi-party talks broke up for Christmas om 22 December.

The talks on the three Stands - Northern Ireland, North and South in Ireland and East and West - appeared to be stalling with no progress on any of the key issues.

Papers marked 'restricted' and 'confidential' recorded Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams fearing the IRA ceasefire would break down in January or February.

One of the arguments on 16 December 1997 centred on Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble statement that the UUP had not after all agreed to discussions in London and Dublin