Scottish Premier League/Dunfermline 0 Celtic 0: Chris Sutton, Celtic's suspended striker, wisely stayed well away from East End Park in the wake of his ill-advised comments about Dunfermline lying down to Rangers on the last day of last season when the Premier League title was won by the Ibrox club and lost by Celtic.
Yet the legacy of those remarks lingers. Pre-match warnings to both sets of players by the police seemed, by and large, to have the desired effect, with only Barry Nicholson of the home team booked in a 0-0 draw, but off-the-field problems may yet provoke a Scottish Football Association inquiry.
Dunfermline's chairman John Yorkston kick-started what was always going to be a fraught day by having to apologise for a programme article insulting visiting fans; Henrik Larsson was hit in the face by the ball thrown at him by a Pars supporter; and after the match there was fighting between rival groups. A police investigation of the various flashpoints is under way and an SFA one may follow.
Dunfermline's first point against either of the Old Firm teams in Jimmy Calderwood's tenure as manager left them the happier club but Celtic's Martin O'Neill will recall that Rangers recovered from an opening-day draw at Kilmarnock last season to go on and win the title.
"It's the first time in 57 league matches we've failed to score, but we will improve," he insisted.
Rangers made an inspired start to the season with a thumping 4-0 win over 10-man Kilmarnock.
Rangers were quickly into their stride with Dane Peter Lovenkrands firing them ahead on 14 minutes.
Dutchman Michael Mols and Spaniard Mikel Arteta, with two strikes, then overwhelmed Kilmarnock, whose chance of victory disappeared after defender Chris Innes was red-carded before half time.
Motherwell, who finished bottom last season and escaped relegation only through red tape, lost 3-0 to Dundee at home. The goals came from Gavin Rae, Lee Wilkie and Barry Smith.
Hearts, whose European campaign will start later, opened the domestic season well with a 2-0 home victory over Aberdeen, thanks to goals from Mark de Vries and Andy Kirk.
Their city rivals Hibernian won 2-1 at Dundee United. Collin Samuel opened the scoring for the home team only for Derek Riordan to equalise, and a late penalty from Tom McManus, which also led to the sending-off of United's Barry Robson, secured the points for Bobby Williamson's side.
Partick Thistle and Livingston drew 1-1 at Firhill, where Kenny Milne put the home team ahead and Fernando Pasquinelli levelled.
Guardian Service
DUNFERMLINE: Stillie, Skerla, Tod, Scott Wilson, Nicholson, Darren Young, Derek Young (Grondin 71), Mason, McGroarty, Crawford, Brewster. Subs Not Used: Ruitenbeek, Walker, McNicol, Storrie. Booked: Nicholson.
CELTIC: Douglas, Valgaeren, Balde, Mjallby, Agathe, Lennon (Miller 71), Lambert (Smith 71), Petrov, Thompson, Larsson, Maloney. Subs Not Used: Hedman, Varga, Beattie.
Referee: H Dallas (Scotland).
