Celtic legend Jimmy Johnstone was left out of the Scotland team that played in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany after going on a drinking session with captain Billy Bremner, according to commentator Archie Macpherson.
Winger Jinky, who died in 2006, was in top form in the build up to the 1974 tournament, tearing apart England at Hampden Park just a month before.
But despite being named in the 22 man squad that went to West Germany, many fans remain baffled that one of Scotland’s greatest ever players was not included in the group games against Zaire, Brazil or Yugoslavia.
In his new book Adventures in the Golden Age - Scotland in the World Cup Finals 1974-1998, Macpherson reveals how Bremner and Johnstone went on a drinking session in Oslo, Norway, where they played a warm up game.
He said he and fellow commentator John Motson were in a student bar when the pair burst in drunk and singing, and broke a strict curfew imposed by Scotland boss Willie Ormond.
Macpherson said Johnstone, who was 29 years old, was no longer at his peak but his behaviour was likely a factor in Ormond’s thinking.
In his book, he writes: “Motson and I were sitting in the student bar having a pleasant chat and sipping our beer when we heard the sound of raucous singing that caught the ears.
“Down the short flight of stairs leading in to the well of the bar came the Scottish captain Billy Bremner, his arms round the shoulders of his great mate Jimmy Johnstone. They were, as the Bard would have it, ‘unco fu’. They saw us and made a beeline towards our table.
“We held still and they thumped down beside us, Bremner’s arms round Johnstone’s shoulders and singing straight in to his face.
“Johnstone, the better singer, was trilling like a linntie as they say, but in between they were encouraging the bewildered students to join in."
Johnstone would play for Scotland again but he was given a free transfer from Celtic at the end of the 1974-75 season.
Macpherson believes Johnstone’s decline on the pitch was “a significant factor” but said the incident in Oslo “didn’t help” his chances of playing at the World Cup. Adventures in the Golden Age - Scotland in the World Cup Finals 1974-1998 is published by Black and White Publishing, priced £11.99.
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