1996–97 in Scottish football
The 1996–97 season was the 100th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season saw a playoff system introduced between the second bottom club in the Premier Division and the second top club in Division One.
Scottish Premier Division
Champions: RangersRelegated: Raith Rovers
Premier Division/Division One playoff
- Hibernian 1–0 Airdrieonians
- Airdrieonians 2–4 Hibernian
Scottish League Division One
Relegated: Clydebank, East Fife
Scottish League Division Two
Promoted: Ayr United, Hamilton AcademicalRelegated: Dumbarton, Berwick Rangers
Scottish League Division Three
Promoted: Inverness CT, Forfar AthleticOther honours
Cup honours
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Report |
| Scottish Cup 1996–97 | Kilmarnock | 1 – 0 | Falkirk | Wikipedia article |
| League Cup 1996–97 | Rangers | 4 – 3 | Heart of Midlothian | Wikipedia article |
| Challenge Cup 1996–97 | Stranraer | 1 – 0 | St Johnstone | Wikipedia article |
| Youth Cup | Celtic | 3 – 2 | Rangers | |
| Junior Cup | Pollok | 3 – 1 | Tayport |
Individual honours
SPFA awards
SFWA awards
Scottish clubs in Europe
| Club | Competition | Final round | Coef. |
| Rangers | UEFA Champions League | Group stage | 5.00 |
| Heart of Midlothian | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Qualifying round | 1.00 |
| Aberdeen | UEFA Cup | Second round | 5.00 |
| Celtic | UEFA Cup | First round | 1.50 |
Average coefficient -
Scotland national team
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Competition | Scotland scorer | |
| 31 August 1996 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna |  Austria | 0–0 | WCQG4 | |
| 5 October 1996 | Daugava Stadium, Riga |  Latvia | 2–0 | WCQG4 | John Collins, Darren Jackson |
| 10 November 1996 | Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow |  Sweden | 1–0 | WCQG4 | John McGinlay |
| 11 February 1997 | Stade Louis II, Monaco |  Estonia | 0–0 | WCQG4 | |
| 29 March 1997 | Rugby Park, Kilmarnock | Estonia | 2–0 | WCQG4 | Tom Boyd, own goal |
| 2 April 1997 | Celtic Park, Glasgow | Austria | 2–0 | WCQG4 | Kevin Gallacher |
| 30 April 1997 | Ullevi, Gothenburg | Sweden | 1–2 | WCQG4 | Kevin Gallacher |
| 27 May 1997 | Rugby Park, Kilmarnock |  Wales | 0–1 | Friendly | |
| 1 June 1997 | Ta' Qali Stadium, Valletta |  Malta | 3–2 | Friendly | Darren Jackson, Christian Dailly |
| 8 June 1997 | Dinamo Stadium, Minsk |  Belarus | 1–0 | WCQG4 | Gary McAllister |
Key:
- = Home match
- = Away match
- WCQG4 = World Cup qualifying - Group 4
Notable events
- Rangers matched Celtic's record of nine successive top division titles.
- Tommy Burns was sacked as Celtic manager after the end of the season, having won just one trophy in his three years in charge.
- Mark Hateley briefly returned to Rangers after a year in England to provide cover in attack during the title run-in, before moving back to England as player-manager of Hull City.
- Kilmarnock won the Scottish Cup to end their 32-year wait for a major trophy.
- Veteran goalkeeper Jim Leighton transferred from Hibernian to Aberdeen at the end of the season.
- Former Scotland striker Mo Johnston moved to America at the start of the season to play for Kansas City Wizards in the American Major League.
- Trevor Steven, the former England winger, retired from playing at the end of the season after winning seven league titles with Rangers since first joining them in 1989.
- St Johnstone returned to the Premier Division by winning the Division One title by a 20-point margin.
- Brian Laudrup was voted SFWA Footballer of the Year.
- Paolo di Canio was voted SPFA Players' Player of the Year after scoring 15 league goals for Celtic after joining them from AC Milan in his native Italy, but during the close season left them to join Sheffield Wednesday for £4.7million.