Gary Mackay (born 23 January 1964 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former footballer, who made over 500 league appearances for Heart of Midlothian and also played for Airdrieonians and the Scotland national team. After retiring as a player, he managed Airdrie for a year. Mackay is now an SFA–registered agent.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 January 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1980–1997 | Heart of Midlothian | 516 | (45) |
| 1997–1999 | Airdrieonians | 44 | (1) |
| Total | 560 | (46) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–1988 | Scotland | 4 | (1) |
| 1990[1] | SFA (SFL centenary) | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1999–2000 | Airdrieonians | ||
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editMackay played for Heart of Midlothian for most of his career, and he holds the record for the most competitive appearances for the club, with 640.[3] Mackay won international recognition in the late 1980s, winning four caps for Scotland. His most significant act as a Scotland player was to score the winning goal on his debut in a UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying match against Bulgaria in Sofia.[4] Although this goal did not substantially benefit Scotland, who had already been eliminated, it was of great significance to Ireland, who qualified for the finals as a result of this strike.[4]
Kevin Harper alleged that he had been racially abused by Mackay during a match in November 1996. The Scottish Football Association failed to investigate the incident.[5][6] Mackay has since been involved in work for 'Show Racism the Red Card' which primarily aims to prevent racism in football.[7]
Mackay left Hearts in 1997 to play for Airdrie. After retiring as a player in 1999, Mackay then managed Airdrie for a season, but the club suffered severe financial problems[8] and he was sacked to make way for Steve Archibald during July 2000.[9]
Mackay has since worked as an agent, representing players including Garry O'Connor,[10] Christophe Berra[11] and Lee Wallace.[12] Mackay was criticised by his former club Hearts in June 2011 on the official Hearts website. "Over a short space of time 4 players at our club have been on the wrong end of the law. We note that 3 of them are represented by the same agent – Gary Mackay – who has been so vicious in his attacks against Mr Romanov".[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ On this day, back in 1990, a Scottish League XI beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in the SFL Centenary match with the goal coming from then Aberdeen Football Club star Hans Gillhaus, Scottish Professional Football League via Facebook, 18 August 2016
- ^ Players' Agents Archived 4 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Football Association.
- ^ Hearts Players by Appearances Archived 4 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, London Hearts.
- ^ a b The goal of his life, Evening Herald, 11 December 2008.
- ^ Ideally suited to face up to racism Why the boy from Possil is mystified over Scots game
- ^ Accentuate the negative; The head-in-the-sand attitude of Scottish
- ^ Show Racism the Red Card Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Sacked Airdrie players to appeal". BBC News. 16 June 2000.
- ^ "Airdrie have new Mackay in the frame". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 20 July 2000.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Smith dismayed at absent O'Connor". BBC Sport. 9 October 2006.
- ^ "Berra has hunger for Wolves' Premier bid". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Publishing. 4 February 2009.
- ^ "'Airgun' footballer pleads guilty". BBC News. 6 September 2006.
- ^ "Gary Mackay vicious in his attacks against Mr Romanov". Heart of Midlothian FC. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
External links
edit- Gary Mackay at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- London Hearts club profile Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- London Hearts international profile